Bombshells
by Pokeyonekenobie
Summary: A misunderstanding drove them apart. Now an emergency will bring them back together. But will they ever manage to repair the rift in their friendship?
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Just something that popped into my head. Not exactly sure that there will be a set schedule for this one. Not sure how long it will end up being, but the chapters will be considerably shorter than I usually write because this fic is all about the cliffhangers. (Insert maniacal laugh.)**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own GW blah blah blah.**

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"Growing unrest in the colonies has been the catalyst for regulations regarding the sale of many items that were once considered commonplace. Even items as innocuous as hair dye and nail polish remover require registration before purchase. While many claim registration is a violation of basic human rights, Chancellor Williams defends the new bill by arguing that those who have nothing to hide don't have anything to worry about. In other news, colony playboy Quatre Winner has gone missing. Those closest to him are concerned about his mental state because he has recently been experimenting with illegal drugs. A spokesperson for his estate said that the drugs made him become inexplicably violent. Anyone with knowledge of his whereabouts is encouraged to alert the authorities immediately. Do not approach him. He is considered a danger to himself and others."

Heero turned off the television. Every day it seemed there was a new law passed to restrict the movements of people in the colonies. He was glad he'd chosen to move to Earth a few years ago. Still, it was only a matter of time before the laws passed in the colonies made their way to Earth. He wasn't exactly surprised that Quatre had gone off the deep end with his life choices. The war had affected him more deeply than it had affected the others. Not that Heero really cared, of course.

"Is this what we fought for?" he wondered to himself. It had been five years since they stopped Mariemaia. In that time, Heero had worked briefly for the Preventers before deciding that he really didn't want to do that kind of work anymore. He had gone to school and was now an actuary. He was able to set his own hours and found that working with numbers instead of people relaxed him. And it paid well enough to suit his needs.

He lived alone in a small, two bedroom house. He'd considered renting an apartment but decided that he preferred the privacy of owning the property he lived on. He also appreciated that there weren't any nosy neighbors attempting to butt into his affairs either.

A light knock on his front door grabbed his attention. He instinctively went for the gun that he no longer wore. His eyes narrowed as he deliberated whether or not to answer it. It was unusual for anyone to come and see him, especially without advanced notice. If it was the mailman, he would leave any packages on the porch and leave. He had a "No Soliciting" sign and had personally contacted all local chapters of the Girl Scouts to tell them he had no interest in cookies or anything else and they had been respectful of his wish to be left alone. The entire neighborhood knew he liked his privacy and was not likely to engage in frivolous merrymaking, no matter the reason for the event.

The knock came again, this time a little louder. Heero scowled and looked through the peephole in the door. A man with black hair was on his porch. He was slouching and wearing dark clothing. Heero watched as the man looked around nervously before knocking a third time. He clearly wasn't going away.

Heero wrenched the door open. "WHAT?"

The man looked at him. "Heero…thank goodness…I found you."

Heero blinked in surprise as the man slumped forward. He instinctively grabbed at the man, preventing him from collapsing on the ground.

"Who are you?" Heero demanded. "Why are you here?"

The man looked up with bleary aqua eyes. "I didn't know where else to go," he said softly.

"Quatre?!"


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Thanks for all the reviews! ^-^**

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Heero pushed his surprise aside and quickly pulled his former comrade into the house. Once the door was closed Heero pushed Quatre roughly against the wall.

"You've got a lot of nerve coming here after what you did," Heero growled. "What the hell do you want?"

Quatre worked to focus his eyes. "I had to come. We're in danger. All of us. I needed to warn you. We need to warn the others but I don't know how to contact them."

Heero couldn't keep the contempt out of his eyes. "How did you know where to find me?" Heero cut Quatre off as he started to answer. "No, don't. Let me guess. Relena told you, didn't she? That little tramp is still spying on me, isn't she?"

"Heero…it's not…it's not like that," Quatre gasped out as Heero dug his hands into his shoulders. "She…she still cares about you."

Heero brought his face close to Quatre's. "Then why did she cheat on me? And with _you_ of all people? You were my friend! I thought I could trust you!"

"You _can_ trust me Heero! Just…just let me explain!"

"The time for explanations is passed. Get out."

Heero grabbed Quatre by the front of his shirt and pulled him away from the wall, intent on literally throwing him out of his house but a dark red stain on the wall made him freeze. His personal issues with his former comrade aside, Quatre was injured and from the looks of things, he needed medical attention immediately.

"Heero," Quatre said softly, taking advantage of Heero's brief hesitation. "You have to listen to me…please?"

"Why are you hurt?"

"Th-the colonies are not safe right now. I barely managed to get away. That's why I need your help. We have to warn Duo and Trowa to get somewhere safe. They're coming for us."

"What about Chang? Have you warned him already?"

Quatre hung his head. "They've already gotten Wufei. They took Sally as well. I don't know much else. Wufei tried to contact me but his transmission was intercepted. If Rashid hadn't pushed me into the hidden passageway behind the tapestry in the dining room, they would have caught me, too."

"You need medical attention."

Quatre nodded. "I couldn't go to a hospital…I'm too well-known. I was hoping you could fix me up well enough to stop bleeding everywhere. I don't trust anyone else right now."

Heero grunted. "Fine."

He let Quatre's shirt go and the former Sandrock pilot sank to his knees. "Thank you, Heero," he murmured.

"Come on. Let's go into the bathroom."

Quatre looked at Heero's floor. "I don't want to get blood on the carpet."

Heero looked at his carpeting. It was old and worn out. It had come with the house. He hadn't seen a point in replacing it because it didn't bother him.

"Get in the bathroom."

Quatre sighed. "You'll have to help me, then."

Heero rolled his eyes and helped Quatre to his feet. Quatre hissed in pain but Heero didn't care to acknowledge it. Just because Heero didn't want him to bleed to death didn't mean that they were friends again. He wasn't sure he could ever forgive the blonde's betrayal.

Once in the bathroom, Heero ordered Quatre to strip so he could assess his injuries. Quatre slowly and painstakingly removed his shirt. Heero couldn't quite hide his shock at his former friend's condition. Quatre had large bruises over his ribcage and a large scab on his shoulder that had been broken open. Heero did feel a little guilty because that was most likely his fault. Quatre also had a large gash on his right bicep. The blood on Heero's wall, however, came from a bullet wound in Quatre's back.

"Any internal injuries?"

Quatre shook his head. "Nothing worse than bruised ribs."

"You were lucky this bullet stopped where it did," Heero said as he used tweezers to remove the bullet. "It almost lodged in your spine."

Quatre nodded. "I don't know if it was specifically intended for me or just a stray from the attack on my house. I…I'm not sure if Rashid…I haven't heard from him so…" Quatre didn't finish his thought as a gasp of pain ripped itself from his throat.

"I'll look into it," Heero said dropping the offending bullet onto the counter. "Once I get you patched up you can shower and I'll see if I have something you can change into. There's no point in going around looking suspicious. You'll only get picked up sooner."

Quatre was silent as Heero stitched his injuries. As Heero started to put away his first aid kit, Quatre decided to speak up.

"She didn't cheat on you."

"Yeah, right," Heero muttered.

"She didn't!" Quatre insisted. "She would never cheat on you."

Heero whirled around to face Quatre, murder in his eyes. "Then why do you two have a kid?"

Quatre remained calm in the face of Heero's naked rage. "That isn't my child."

"She told everyone it was."

"I know. I told her to. I've also been sending her a check every month to assist with the expenses."

"If it isn't yours, why would you do all of that?"

"Because when your friends are in trouble, you help them."

"So let me get this straight. That kid isn't yours. It isn't mine. But she never cheated on me? How exactly does that work?" Heero snapped.

"Heero…Relena was raped."


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Thanks to everyone that's reading! I appreciate your support! ^-^**

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Quatre's words struck Heero like a slap to the face. He felt like the entire world came to a screeching halt. "What?"

"Relena didn't cheat on you. She was raped," Quatre repeated.

"If that's _true_ why didn't she come to _me_?" Heero yelled.

"She tried to but you were angry about something and she was hurt and confused and scared. She told me that she was certain if she told you, you wouldn't believe her."

Heero thought back to his failed relationship with the former Prime Minister. The tabloids had written numerous articles about her being seen with various men at different events and he had convinced himself she was interested in them in a romantic way. He'd confronted her about it. That had led to a series of arguments, each more ridiculous than the last.

"Then why didn't _you_ tell me?"

Quatre looked away. "I wanted to but she asked me not to. At first I thought it was because she was going to tell you herself but she never did. And by the time I realized that she wasn't going to, you refused to speak to me."

"Who did it?" Heero's tone promised a slow and painful end to Relena's assailant.

Quatre shrugged and winced as his injuries reminded him they were there. "Relena told me she'd gone to a party with friends and someone laced her drink. They were gone before she came to."

Heero finished cleaning up the first aid kit in silence. "Shower. I'll find you something to wear."

"Thank you, Heero."

Heero left Quatre to clean himself up. He couldn't believe how stupid he'd been about Relena. The last time she'd talked to him she had seemed upset but he was so convinced she was cheating that he'd written it off as an act to guilt trip him into staying with her. He wondered if he had any chance of apologizing now. He gathered clothes for Quatre to wear and decided that there was no point in worrying about it. He was pretty positive that she would never talk to him again, let alone give him the opportunity to apologize and start their relationship over.

Heero knocked lightly on the bathroom door to announce his presence before letting himself in.

"Here, Quatre. You can put this on when you're done."

Heero frowned when Quatre didn't reply. "Quatre?"

When he didn't reply again, Heero moved to the shower curtain and pulled it back enough to see if Quatre was okay.

Quatre was leaning against the wall as the water slid over him. He was pale and looked like he was about to pass out.

"Quatre?"

Quatre looked at Heero, but his eyes weren't focused.

"Do you require assistance?"

Quatre nodded.

Heero stripped down to his boxers and got into the shower. Quatre was doing everything he could to stay upright so Heero quickly scrubbed him down.

"What did you use on your hair?" Heero asked as he rubbed shampoo into Quatre's scalp.

"Shoe polish," Quatre answered softly. "Can't…can't get hair dye…without registering…anymore."

Heero nodded. "That's what they reported on the news. Why did they decide hair dye was an item that required registration?" Heero wasn't really interested; he just wanted to keep Quatre awake.

"Anything that…can change…your appearance…is on…the list…now. Even…even lipstick…is on…the list. They won't…report it on…the news…but the women…are pissed…about it." It was obvious that Quatre was having a hard time getting the words out. Heero wondered when he had slept last.

Once all traces of blood and shoe polish were washed away, Heero helped a (once again) blonde Quatre into a pair of sleep pants and a t-shirt. He then helped Quatre to the extra bedroom.

"You can stay here. We'll figure out the next move once you're rested."

"I don't want to put you out, Heero," Quatre murmured.

Heero snorted. "You can't even stand up on your own. And you're not putting me out."

Quatre was too exhausted to argue so he curled up on the bed and Heero put the blankets over him.

Heero went to the living room and pulled out his cell phone. He dialed and it only rang once before being answered. "I know where Winner is."


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Thanks for all the reviews/follows/favorites! You guys are awesome! Again, this story doesn't have a set posting time but I'm trying to keep it regular. It kind of depends on my muse. It's been a bit of a pain when I try to work on Silent Companion so I'm hoping it doesn't act up on this story as well.**

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Quatre awoke with the feeling he was not alone. Rolling over, he came into contact with someone. He sat up quickly, instantly regretting it as his ribs screamed at him.

The other person in the bed was woken up by his sudden movement.

"Oh…hey, Quatre. You feelin' better?"

"Duo?"

Duo grinned up at the confused blonde. "The one and only. Heero told me you were lookin' for me so I thought I'd drop by."

"Why are you in my bed?"

Duo sat up and stretched. "Technically, it's _Heero's_ guest bed. And I'm in it because it was either this or the floor. Trowa took the couch. I didn't figure you'd mind."

"Trowa's here too?"

"Didn't I just say that? Yeah. We're all here. Heero called us and we booked it over. You were dead to the world so we let you sleep."

"What time is it?" Quatre asked as he looked around for a clock.

Duo glanced at his watch. "Nearly eight. You've been asleep for over twenty-four hours. Time to get up for breakfast." Duo got up and grabbed a duffle bag. "Tell Heero I'll be out after I take a quick shower."

Quatre slowly pulled his protesting body off the bed. Now that the adrenaline had worked itself out of his system he discovered how many pulled muscles he really had. He didn't have a change of clothing, so Quatre headed for the kitchen, since he assumed that's where Heero would be. As he came around the corner, a fist connected with his jaw, sending him sprawling. Before he knew it, someone was sitting on him and had him by the shirt.

"How _dare_ you come to Heero for help!" Trowa growled at him.

"Trowa! Let him go!"

Trowa looked up at Heero in surprise. "Did you forget what he did?"

Heero shook his head. "There's more to that than we were aware of. Let him up."

"What's goin' on?" Duo came out of the bathroom, fully dressed with his hair wrapped in a towel. It never ceased to amaze Quatre that Duo could shower just as quickly as anyone else even with all that hair to wash.

"A misunderstanding," Heero said. "Let him up, Trowa."

Trowa got off of Quatre but did not offer to help him up, nor did he extend an apology. Quatre didn't move right away. Instead he stared up at the ceiling, his breathing labored.

Heero knelt down. "Can you get up?"

"I think some of my stitches popped. And no, I don't think I can get up. My muscles are too stiff."

Heero carefully helped Quatre to his feet, frowning at the fresh blood staining the back of his shirt. "All of you listen to me. What happened between Quatre and me is over. We'll explain what really happened later but right now I have to check Quatre's injuries. Duo and Trowa, finish getting breakfast ready. This shouldn't take long and then we can discuss everything."

Heero took Quatre into the bedroom and had him sit down while he went and got the first aid kit again. He carefully peeled up Quatre's shirt and frowned.

"I'll have to restitch this. Let me check your arm while I'm at it." He pulled Quatre's shirt completely off and threw it in the hamper. Quatre's arm was oozing a bit of pus but the stitches had held.

Heero carefully fixed Quatre's back and then applied an antibiotic to both his back and his arm. "Wait here. I'll get you another shirt."

Quatre nodded and waited for Heero to come back.

As he helped Quatre into the clean shirt, Heero said, "I'm sorry about Trowa. I didn't think he'd do that."

"I should have expected it," Quatre said. "When Relena announced that she was pregnant with my child he came to see me. I've never seen him so angry. He was so mad I didn't even get a chance to explain. I tried contacting him afterward but he refused to speak to me and I'm pretty sure he deleted all of my emails without ever looking at them."

"Why would he be so upset?" Heero asked. "It wasn't like you cheated on _him_."

"You never noticed?" Quatre asked, a little amused. "He used to have a crush on Relena. He told me he did, back during the wars. After the Mariemaia incident he said he didn't think he could ever have more than a teenage crush on her and he was happy you two were together. When he came to see me the last time he told me that he saw all of us as family and if I cared about the rest of you, I never would have betrayed you this way. He said to betray one of us was to betray all of us and that I couldn't ever understand how important our friendships were because I'd always been given everything I ever wanted. He even accused me of going after her just to keep you from having her. I knew back then that I'd lost Trowa's friendship over this whole thing."

Heero frowned. "So…does she know…about Trowa's feelings?"

Quatre shook his head. "I didn't see a point in telling her."

"Did she ever tell you how she really felt about your…uh…arrangement?"

"Not really. I told her she was still a free woman and I wouldn't stop her from having relationships unless I had reason to be concerned. I think she tried to move on for a while but she hasn't been dating as much lately. She's had a number of suitors who have made it clear that her having a child doesn't bother them. She's never once entertained the idea of marrying any of them."

Heero grunted. "She definitely deserves someone who treats her better than I did. I think…if I can't win her back, I'd feel better if she was with you. At least I know I can trust you…now."

"She's already chosen you, but she thinks she's lost you. I don't think I could get her to marry me even if I begged."

"Do you…love her?"

Quatre gave his friend a smile. "I love her like a sister. Not in a romantic way."

"Well…good." Even though he had a million more questions Heero left the conversation at that and headed out of the room. There would be time to figure out how to fix his relationship with Relena after they retrieved Chang and Sally.

Quatre slowly followed Heero to the kitchen, where Heero ordered him to sit at the table.

"What happened to you, Quatre?" Duo asked as he set the table. He'd taken the time to braid his hair. "The news reported that you were on some kind of drug bender."

Quatre shook his head. "No, Duo. I'm not doing drugs."

"Eat first," Heero interrupted as he set a plate of scrambled eggs on the table. "There will be plenty of time to discuss recent happenings after breakfast."

Quatre looked down at the table. "I wouldn't be so sure of that, Heero."


	5. Chapter 5

**^-^ You guys are awesome! Thanks for all the love this story is getting.**

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"What information do you have, Quatre?" Heero asked once the four of them were seated at the table. If Quatre felt they were out of time then they ought to get right into it.

Quatre took a drink of tea before answering. "It isn't much, I'm afraid. Wufei tried to send me an encrypted message but before it was fully transmitted it was intercepted. The part I was able to decode stated that he suspected an offshoot group of Romafeller had sprung up and there were rumors that they wanted to recruit the five of us to act as enforcers."

"What makes you think they have Chang?" Trowa asked. "They didn't catch you."

Quatre sighed and set down his fork. "I saw Wufei and Sally being taken prisoner."

"What were they doing on L4?" Duo asked.

"They weren't on L4. I went to L5 after his failed message to see if I could be of assistance."

"Let me guess. The guys taking Chang and Po saw you and you ran and that's how you got shot in the back," Trowa said with a sneer.

"No," Quatre said. He was getting sick of Trowa's attitude. "Actually, they never even knew I was on L5. And I got shot before I got there."

"Whoa…wait a minute. You got shot on L4, went to L5, and then came _here_ without getting patched up?" Duo asked. He continued without waiting for an answer. "Are you insane? You could have bled to death!"

Trowa muttered something under his breath that sounded a lot like "Who would miss him?" but Quatre ignored it. Heero shot Trowa a glare and earned a glare in return.

"I was kind of planning on having Sally fix me up. And even after she couldn't, I needed to warn you guys," Quatre said softly. "I know you all hate me, but I still consider you my friends."

"Friends don't sleep with their friends' girlfriends," Trowa spat.

Quatre stood up. "I didn't sleep with Relena."

Trowa stood up as well. "Then how did she get knocked up with your kid?"

"That is not Quatre's child," Heero put in, trying to keep the fight from escalating. They needed to focus on the current problem. They could figure out past issues later.

"And you believe that?" Trowa asked, glaring at Heero.

Heero nodded. "I have found information that leads to the conclusion that Quatre is innocent. It was a big misunderstanding."

"So why did Relena tell everyone that she was leaving her job as Prime Minister because they got married in secret and she was having _his_ kid?"

Quatre closed his eyes and took a deep breath before looking Trowa in the eye. "I told her she could. I was doing her a favor."

"By helping her cheat on Heero?"

"By helping to keep her reputation intact," Quatre shot back.

"Is that why you've been seen with different women at _every_ major event since? You're doin' a great job of making it look like you two are together," Trowa drawled sarcastically. "The _least_ you could have done is come up with a credible lie!"

"Guys!" Duo said as he stood. "Clearly Heero and Quatre have patched things up. Trowa, you should let it go. It isn't like this whole thing involved you in the first place."

"Wrong! What affects one of us affects all of us! How can we trust him after a betrayal like that? How do you know he won't go after Hilde next? He _is_ known as _The Playboy of L4_ after all."

Quatre still felt weak from his injuries and sat down. He knew that Trowa wouldn't accept an answer from him until he was able to understand the situation. Duo sat as well. There was no point in letting his breakfast get cold just because _someone_ wouldn't listen to reason. Trowa stayed standing.

"Trowa, we can discuss this later. We need to figure out where they're keeping Chang and extract him," Heero said, trying to steer the conversation back on course.

"No, Heero…they might as well know now. If it will help them to be able to trust me on this mission, they need to know," Quatre said.

Heero grunted. "Fine. Quatre told Relena to say the child was his because she got pregnant after being raped."

Duo's jaw dropped and the food he'd been about to put in his mouth dropped off his fork back onto his plate.

"So he helped her keep it a secret from you? How is that any better?" Trowa demanded.

"He wanted to tell me. Relena asked him not to," Heero said.

"Why wouldn't she want to tell you?" Duo asked.

"Because it's my fault she got raped."


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Short chapter, but I think the next one will be a little longer.**

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Quatre looked up sharply at Heero's words. "Heero, you can't blame yourself for that. I told you, she was given a laced drink at a party."

"A party that she _begged_ me to go to with her," Heero shot back. "I refused to go because I was being petty and immature. If I had been with her, nobody would have had the chance to do that to her. It _is_ my fault."

"Heero…"

"Look, we can hash this out later," Heero said. "We need to extract Chang. Does anyone have any leads?"

Duo and Trowa shook their heads.

"You callin' us was the first we'd heard of it," Duo said. He looked at Quatre. "What do you know?"

"Wufei and Sally were forced onto a shuttle at gunpoint. The gunmen were wearing navy blue uniforms. I didn't see any insignias on their uniforms but the shuttle had the word 'Rotundum' written on it."

"Rotundum?" Heero asked with a frown.

Quatre nodded.

"Is that the name of the shuttle?" Duo asked. "We can look up registrations and see who it belongs to."

Trowa nodded. "Yes, but how do we know they even registered it under that name?"

"We won't know until we look it up," Heero said. "Any other details we should be paying attention to, Quatre?"

Quatre shrugged and winced as the action pulled at his stitches. "I don't know. I should try to contact Rashid and see if he was able to find out anything from the men that attacked my home."

Trowa and Duo suddenly found other things in the room to look at.

Heero cleared his throat. "Quatre…I have some bad news. Rashid…" Heero closed his eyes and took a deep breath before looking Quatre in the eyes and stating, "Rashid is dead."


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: This will be the last chapter I post until I finish another chapter of Silent Companion. I'm hoping that forcing my muse to work on them both will get both of them moving a little faster because I'm used to working on 2 or 3 stories at a time. So tell my muse to get it together so both stories can get done!**

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Quatre felt like he was going to throw up. He couldn't breathe properly. He had to have heard incorrectly. "D-dead?" he whispered.

Heero nodded.

"Excuse me." Quatre got up from the table and stiffly walked down the hall. The silence was so absolute that they all heard the door to the guest room softly click shut.

"Think he'll be okay?" Duo asked.

Trowa snorted. "He'll be fine. He'll hire another body guard as soon as he gets home."

"I'm gettin' sick of your crappy attitude, Barton," Duo growled. "For your information, Rashid wasn't just some servant to Quatre. But you already knew that. You're just bein' a jerk and you need to quit it."

Heero stood and started gathering up his and Quatre's dishes. "You two need to stop bickering. And Trowa, Duo's right. You need to get off Quatre's case. I don't know why you think what happened between me and him three years ago is any of your business and unless you care to enlighten us you need to get your head out of your backside and start being helpful."

Trowa didn't say anything; he just started clearing the table and headed to the sink.

When Duo started to clear his place, Heero said, "Leave that. Make sure Quatre's okay."

Duo nodded and silently went to the guest room. He knocked lightly and then inched the door open.

"Quatre? You okay?"

Quatre didn't answer. Duo poked his head in to see Quatre laying on the bed with an arm over his eyes. He was sobbing silently and tears ran down his cheeks. Duo sat on the edge of the bed and didn't say anything. He just wanted Quatre to know he was there if he wanted to talk.

"He wasn't just a servant, you know," Quatre whispered after a long silence.

"I know."

"He was my friend. And after m-my f-father…" Quatre's breath hitched. "Rashid was like a father to me. He was there when I needed him. He took care of me…taught me what I needed to know. I wouldn't be who I am today without him." Quatre knew he wasn't explaining it properly. Rashid meant far too much to be able to put it into words. Now he was gone…

"He was a great guy," Duo agreed.

"He would be alive if it wasn't for me."

Duo turned to look at Quatre. "Don't say that. That isn't true and you know it."

"If I had just let them take me they would have left Rashid and the others alone."

Duo snorted. "I doubt that. Whoever targeted you had to know that the Maganacs were there. And anyone who knows you knows that Rashid isn't far behind. They were obviously prepared to take him down. You can't blame yourself for that."

"Yes I can," Quatre muttered.

Duo sighed but bit back any retort he might have thought up. Quatre was distraught and arguing with him wasn't going to make the blonde feel better. Instead he laid down on the bed and pulled Quatre into a warm embrace.

"I'm sorry that you feel that way," Duo said. "I'm sorry Rashid is gone. I'm sorry that things haven't been good between us for the last few years."

"It isn't your fault, Duo."

"Well, it isn't like I went out of my way to make everyone kiss and make up. And I never tried to talk to you about what happened either. Tell me something. If I'd come to you and demanded an explanation, would you have told me what was really going on?"

"Yes," Quatre whispered. "Relena asked me not to talk to Heero. She didn't say anything about having one of you talk to him."

"So why didn't you even _try_ to talk to me first?" Duo asked.

Quatre pulled out of Duo's embrace and sat up. "After Trowa's reaction…I assumed you all hated me. I thought that by not confirming it, I was saving myself the agony of knowing for certain."

"Don't you know that when you assume it makes an ASS out of U and ME? But I guess I can see where you're comin' from. Trowa was pretty pissed about the whole thing. I don't get why, though. It wasn't about him."

Quatre sighed. He hated having to keep explaining things. "It's because he had a crush on Relena when we were younger."

Duo laughed. "Are we talking about the same Trowa?"

Quatre furrowed his brows in confusion and looked at Duo. "Did I miss something?"

Duo grinned. "Never mind. I just always thought he couldn't stand her."

"That isn't what he told me," Quatre said.

"Well…I'll go let Heero know you're not about to go Zero or anything. Come out when you're ready, okay?"

Quatre nodded. "Thank you, Duo."

"Anytime, buddy."

Duo walked out to the living room. Heero and Trowa were on laptops, typing rapidly.

"Quatre's taking it hard, but I think he'll be okay," Duo said casually as he dropped onto the couch.

Trowa rolled his eyes but didn't say anything.

"So…any luck with finding Wufei?"

Trowa shook his head, but Heero stopped typing.

"Rotundum isn't the name of any registered shuttle. It is, however, a Latin word for 'revolution.' I think someone might be trying to start another war."


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: Sorry about the wait. :)**

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Duo frowned. "Isn't that the revolution that means going around? Wouldn't the one that has to do with war be 'revolutio'?"

"The word 'revolution' when it refers to war comes from the Latin word 'revolutio'," Trowa confirmed. "However, 'revolutio' literally translates into 'cycling', as in cycling through. Does it really matter which one they used? It isn't exactly subtle."

Heero shook his head. "No. It isn't subtle, but I think that was on purpose. They wanted us to know what they're up to."

"Why would they do that?" Duo asked. "Wouldn't they know it'd tick us off?"

"That's exactly it, Duo. They know we'd do anything to stop another war. And they wanted to lure us out of hiding."

"But they already knew where Chang and Winner were," Trowa pointed out. "And it was not common knowledge that either of them were Gundam pilots. If anything, I figured they would have gone after Duo first."

Duo rolled his eyes. It wasn't really his fault that Oz had posted his face everywhere when he got caught that one time. He wouldn't admit it, but he thought Trowa had a point.

"Maybe that's why they went after those two first," Heero said. "Maybe they thought they'd be the hardest to get."

"So…does that mean they know where you are?" Duo asked, looking at Heero.

Heero shrugged. "If they did, then they've been observing me and they would know that you three are here. If they know, they might be waiting for us to make the next move."

"Or maybe they didn't know where any of us were and they're using Chang as bait. Maybe they assumed that we were still as close as we used to be and we would come running if they had Winner as well," Trowa said. "Doesn't say much for their investigative skills, does it?"

"I don't know," Duo said, scratching his chin. "This whole thing seems really weird to me. Why would Wufei contact Quatre first? Why not try to send a message to all of us at once if he knew they were going to go after all of us anyway? And how was it intercepted? Didn't he try sending it to Quatre's private email? The one that only the five of us know about?"

"Now that you mention it, no, he didn't."


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: Thanks so much for reading and for all the lovely reviews! Have another bomb, er...I mean chapter.**

* * *

The three men turned at Quatre's soft revelation. The blonde had just come into the living area and he seated himself next to Duo on the couch. His eyes were red but other than that, there was no sign that he'd been crying.

"He sent the message to my business email. It was odd but I thought it might be because he wasn't sure if I still checked for messages and he knew I would definitely see anything sent to work."

Duo frowned. "What code did he encrypt it with?"

Quatre fell silent as he tried to remember. "It was an old Preventer code…"

"Why wouldn't he use _our_ code?" Duo wanted to know. "There's something seriously wrong here."

The four men were silent as they mulled over the mystery.

"It's nearly lunch time. Is frozen pizza okay with everyone?" Heero asked, breaking the silence.

"Fine with me," Duo said.

Trowa nodded his agreement.

Quatre just gave a small shrug. He wasn't hungry.

Heero frowned but went into the kitchen to put the pizzas in the oven. Quatre hadn't eaten more than three bites at breakfast. Heero wasn't sure when the last time was that Quatre had eaten. With the news about Rashid, Heero understood that Quatre wasn't likely to be hungry but the blonde needed to eat. They needed him in top form to extract Wufei and Quatre was already injured. Heero decided he wouldn't say anything unless Quatre refused to eat.

Upon returning to the living room, Heero picked up his laptop again. Trowa was still tapping away, looking for anything that would lead them to wherever Wufei was being held. Quatre was leaning against the armrest of the couch, a slight frown on his face as he thought. Duo fidgeted for a minute before grabbing the remote control and turning on the television. He settled on a show but Heero could tell he wasn't really interested. Duo just couldn't stand the silence.

"We interrupt this program for a special report. It was reported this afternoon that Mrs. Relena Peacecraft-Winner and her daughter are missing."

The four men stopped what they were doing.

"A Preventer Agent was sent to investigate a disturbance at the Winner Estate on L4 three days ago. There appeared to have been a struggle and four bodies were found, including that of Quatre Winner's bodyguard, Rashid Karuma."

Quatre covered his mouth and looked away as the camera footage showed his ruined home and the bodies of four Maganacs.

"Once the initial investigation was complete, the Preventers attempted to alert Mrs. Peacecraft-Winner of the situation, since her husband is nowhere to be found. Mrs. Peacecraft-Winner's secretary revealed that not only had she not shown up for work this morning, but her daughter hadn't been dropped off at day care. The last time either of them was seen was last evening. They dined at Epanastasi, a local Greek restaurant, with someone fitting the description of her husband. The whereabouts of Quatre Winner are still unknown and the Preventers have named him their prime suspect in both the disappearance of his wife and daughter and the murders of four of his staff."


	10. Chapter 10

Duo looked at Quatre, who had gone deathly pale. "We know you didn't do it, Quatre."

"Th-that doesn't matter," Quatre whispered. "They took Relena and Trina! This isn't a coincidence. It must be the same guys that attacked me and took Wufei."

"Maybe you _should_ have let them take you," Trowa muttered.

"Trowa! That isn't helping!" Heero said.

"Wait a minute, Heero. Maybe Trowa's got somethin' there," Duo said. "We can fit Quatre with a tracker and get word to them on how to find him. Then when they take him, we'll know where Wufei and Relena are and we can just get them all out."

"If we could get these guys a message we would know where Relena and Chang were already," Heero pointed out.

"Yeah…okay…so what about—"

"Give it up, Duo," Trowa interrupted. "I've got the security feed from Epanastasi last night. Look."

Trowa turned his computer so the others could watch the video. The feed was a bit grainy, but it was easy to see Relena entering the restaurant holding Trina's hand. The little girl toddled next to her mother, waving at the other patrons as she passed. They joined a man at a table. He was blonde and had his back to the camera.

"Does anyone recognize him?" Heero asked.

Duo and Trowa shook their heads. Quatre frowned and kept watching, hoping that the man would turn around, which would make him easier to identify.

The three ate a leisurely meal while Relena and the man talked.

Trowa zoomed in and read Relena's lips.

"My husband won't be happy about this. Yes, I understand. You won't get away with it. He'll stop you." There was a long pause before Relena spoke again. "You have to swear my baby will be safe. If anything happens to her all bets are off. You understand that? There will be no mercy if she gets so much as a scratch."

The man nodded and stood, gesturing for Relena to precede him out of the restaurant. A glint of metal flashed in his hand. He was holding a gun to her back.

Heero swore.

"Pause the feed!" Quatre said as the man looked around. "Zoom in on him."

Trowa did so and Quatre swore.

Duo blinked at the blonde. "You recognize him, Quatre?"

Quatre nodded.

"Well? Who is he?" Heero demanded.

"He's…me."


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: Sorry this took so long. Life got a bit crazy. Thanks for the reviews! Enjoy...**

* * *

"Uh…start making sense, Quatre," Duo said. "Seriously. You were unconscious in Heero's guest room last night. There's no way you could have been there, too."

Quatre took a deep breath and let it out. "He's my body double. I hired him for when I needed to be two places at once. My schedule was absolutely insane for a while. I had to be at board meetings, ribbon cuttings, television and newspaper interviews _and_ figure out how to make appearances at parties with Relena. Rashid helped me find him. We thought we could trust him. But now…" Quatre sighed. "I was an idiot for trusting anyone."

Trowa and Heero squinted at the grainy feed.

"He does look a lot like you," Heero admitted. "Relena knows about him, right?"

Quatre nodded. "Yes. She agreed to allow him to accompany her half the time as long as I agreed to go with her the other half." He dropped his head into his hands. "I should have seen this coming."

Trowa snorted. "Imagine that."

Quatre jumped up and tackled Trowa. He'd had enough of Trowa's attitude and snide remarks. He punched Trowa several times before Duo and Heero were able to pull him off.

"WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU, BARTON?" Quatre screamed, straining against Duo's and Heero's hold. "I HAVEN'T DONE ANYTHING TO YOU! IF YOU'RE NOT GOING TO HELP WHY THE HELL ARE YOU HERE?"

Trowa got up off the floor and wiped the blood from his nose. "You think you didn't do anything to me? YOU KNEW! YOU KNEW HOW I FELT ABOUT RELENA! WHY DID SHE GO TO _YOU_ FOR HELP? I WOULD HAVE HELPED HER AND I WOULD HAVE DONE A BETTER JOB OF IT THAN YOU!"

"It isn't _my_ fault she asked me for help," Quatre snapped.

Trowa glared at him. "You should have told her no."

"Why would I do that?" Quatre asked.

"Because! Friends don't…oh, just never mind." Trowa stalked back to the guest room and slammed the door.


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: Quick note, it looks like the last couple of sentences got left off the last chapter. Sorry about that. I went in and added them, so hopefully it's fixed now. Be aware that Nanowrimo begins in half an hour (for me). So there is a chance that I won't be able to update very much this month. It depends on whether or not my muse will let me work on my fics along with my novel(s) in progress.**

* * *

Duo looked at Heero, who shrugged and let Quatre go. Duo warily let Quatre go.

Quatre sank onto the couch. "I'm sorry I snapped," he said quietly. "Heero, can you please check to make sure I didn't pop my stitches again?"

"Duo, go check the pizzas," Heero said and then waited until Duo was out of the room before checking Quatre's injuries. "Your stitches held, but you should really stop doing things like that for a few days."

"I'm really sorry, Heero," Quatre said.

"Don't be. Trowa's been asking for it. I guess he wasn't as over Relena as he said he was."

Quatre sighed. "I guess not. It doesn't fix anything, though. If anything, it makes it worse. How do you feel about the whole thing?"

Heero thought about that for a moment before answering. "I appreciate that he kept his feelings to himself while Relena and I were together but as we are currently broken up…I guess it doesn't really matter if I approve. I don't own Relena. And after the way I treated her…I don't really deserve her, either."

Duo came back into the living room. "You gonna live, Quatre?"

Quatre nodded.

"Great. The pizza's done."

Heero went into the kitchen.

"Do you want me to get Trowa?" Quatre asked.

"Are you suicidal?" Duo asked. "Let him starve."

Duo followed Heero into the kitchen but Quatre decided to talk to Trowa. He knocked softly on the guest room door.

The door jerked open and Quatre found himself staring into Trowa's angry face. "What do you want?"

"The pizza's ready. And…I wanted to say…I'm sorry for attacking you like that. I shouldn't have."

Trowa didn't say anything. He just pushed past Quatre and headed for the kitchen. Quatre sighed and went into the guest room, shutting the door behind him. He sat on the bed. He wasn't hungry and he didn't feel like being around the others right now. His life was literally falling apart and he couldn't fix it. Rashid was gone. Relena had been taken hostage. His friends were putting themselves in danger to keep him safe. Trowa hated him. Quatre didn't know how to make any of it better.

A knock on the door made Quatre jump.

"Quatre?"

"C-come in, Heero."

Heero entered the room with a plate of pizza. "You need to eat."

"I'm not hungry right now. I'll eat later."

Heero frowned. "When was the last time you ate?"

"I had breakfast."

"You had three bites. When was the last time you _actually_ ate?"

Quatre shrugged. "I guess…the night before my home was attacked," he admitted.

Heero shoved the plate of pizza into his hands. "You will eat that."

Quatre stared at the pizza. His vision blurred with tears that were threatening to fall. "I really can't right now, Heero. I promise to eat later."

"We need you in top form, Quatre. We won't be able to get Relena and Wufei back without you."

"That isn't true. You guys are more than capable of doing this without me," Quatre mumbled.

"Quatre I know that you blame yourself for recent events. However that is no reason to allow yourself to wallow in self-pity. I expect you to eat and do whatever is necessary to be ready to go as soon as we can find a viable lead." Heero's no-nonsense tone prompted Quatre to nod. "Good. You don't have to eat more than what I brought you if you don't want, but I expect you to at least eat those two pieces."

Again Quatre nodded and Heero left him alone.

Quatre attempted a bite of the pizza but it was tasteless in his mouth. He wanted to spit it out but he forced himself to swallow. He set the pizza on the dresser and curled up on the bed. His stomach hurt. His back hurt. His arm hurt. His ribs hurt. His heart hurt. His soul hurt.

Who was doing this? Why were they doing it? What did they want? The questions swirled around in Quatre's mind until he fell into an uneasy sleep.

* * *

Out in the kitchen Duo and Trowa were glaring at each other across the table.

"Cut it out, you two," Heero said as he returned to the kitchen and picked out some pizza for himself.

"How's Quatre doing?" Duo asked.

Heero waited until he'd swallowed his bite of pizza before answering. "He's grieving."

Duo could tell that Trowa was about to make a snide remark. "Just shut it, Barton. I don't wanna hear it."

Trowa pretended that he wasn't about to say anything by taking another bite of pizza.

"We need to work up a plan of attack," Heero said after finishing his pizza.

"How are we gonna do that when we don't even know what we're up against?" Duo asked. "We don't know where these guys are or what they want or how big their attack force is. And I still wanna know why they targeted Quatre and Wufei but didn't even _try_ to get the rest of us in on this little scheme of theirs."

"That does seem fishy," Heero agreed. "We should have Quatre check his messages. Maybe they've sent him another one."

"And if not, maybe he can just respond to the one he already got and see if anything comes out of it," Duo said before taking another bite of pizza.

"Why didn't we think of that before?" Heero asked. "It's so simple!" He went into the guest room.

"Quatre? Quatre wake up." Heero gently shook Quatre's shoulder, aware of the blonde's injuries.

Quatre mumbled something but Heero couldn't understand it.

"Quatre wake up."

Quatre gasped and jerked awake.

Heero jumped back out of reflex. He knew the kinds of dreams he had and if his hunch was correct, keeping his distance from any recently awoken comrades would keep him from getting a black eye or a broken nose.

"Sorry, Heero." Quatre sat up, grimacing as he did so.

"Are your injuries bothering you?"

Quatre shrugged. "Everything hurts. I've been pushing myself pretty hard recently."

Heero noticed the uneaten pizza. "And on an empty stomach. You promised you would eat that."

"I will. I just…" Quatre sighed. "Heero I appreciate everything you've done for me but I just need time. Rashid's death is really hard for me to deal with."

Heero sat next to Quatre on the bed. "I understand that but time is a luxury we don't have right now. Can you push your feelings aside until we complete this mission?"

Quatre looked down. "I don't know, Heero."

"Try."

Quatre swallowed at Heero's harsh tone. The Wing Pilot was clearly fed up with Quatre's inability to silence his emotions.

"Lay off him, Heero." Duo walked in with his arms crossed. "Quatre will be able to do what he needs to do. He's never let us down before and he's not about to start, right?"

Quatre nodded, grateful that at least one of the others seemed to be on his side.

"Great, so we wanted to check out that message Wufei sent you. D'you want to bring it up or should we just hack your account?" Duo asked with a smirk.

"I'll bring it up. The password is set to lock up after two false logons." Quatre got up off the bed and grabbed his pizza before going out to the living room. "Can I use your computer, Heero?"

Heero nodded and Quatre logged onto his account. He handed the computer to Heero then went into the kitchen to warm up his pizza in the microwave.

Trowa silently watched Quatre but looked away as Duo swore.

"If this is from Wufei, I'm princess of the moon."


	13. Chapter 13

"Since when does Wufei misspell your name?" Duo asked.

Quatre looked at the email. His name was spelled 'Qatra'. "I guess I figured he was just in a hurry to send that attachment. It's easy to misspell things when you're in a hurry."

"And this Preventer code is so old you can look it up online. It isn't secure. Wufei would know that," Heero said with a frown. "Why didn't you?"

"It isn't like I have time to look up old Preventer codes," Quatre said. "Why don't you try running a company worth billions and see how much free time _you_ have!" Quatre plopped into a chair at the table with a huff. He was tired of everyone attacking him over this. It wasn't like he asked for it and it wasn't his fault. He was beginning to wonder if he should have tried to fix it on his own and left everyone else out of it.

"Whoa! Calm down, Quatre!" Duo said. "Heero didn't mean anything by it. We're just trying to piece everything together." Duo started pacing. "So we know that Wufei didn't send this. My guess is that they sent this to you and then took Wufei to keep you from finding out that he wasn't the one behind the message. However, I don't think they counted on you seeing them taking him and Sally. So that might be information to our advantage."

"If that's the case, then maybe that would explain why they didn't contact the rest of us," Trowa said. "They're after Quatre, not all of us."

"Then why would they say they were trying to get Gundam Pilots?" Quatre asked.

"They do want Gundam pilots. But I don't think they know who we are," Heero said. "The message says: _Qatra, your assistance is required. When Romafeller fell, they were not all vanquished. They are looking for the Gundam Pilots. This time the colonies will not back down. There will be another war if we don't—_." Heero frowned. "This message is designed to make it look like it was intercepted. But it wasn't."

"But whoever sent it knew that Quatre wouldn't ignore a message from Wufei," Trowa pointed out.

Quatre pushed his pizza away. This whole thing made him sick to his stomach.

"Can you find out who actually sent it?" Duo asked.

Heero frowned as he typed away. "I can't trace it. Whoever sent it knew how to cover their tracks."

"Okay…so we narrow down our suspects to people who know Quatre's work email."

Trowa snorted. "That narrows it down to half the universe."

Duo was about to tell Trowa to shut up again when Quatre chuckled.

"He's right," Quatre said. "That's not going to help us much."

"Okay…so…any other ideas?" Duo asked.

Trowa looked at Quatre. "How many people know that you and Wufei are friends?"

Quatre shrugged. "My secretary, a few of my security personnel that used to be Preventers…"

"What about your body double guy?" Duo asked. "Did he ever meet with Wufei instead of you?"

"Of course not. I always made sure to meet with Wufei personally." Quatre didn't add that seeing Wufei was a nice break from the passel of preening kiss-ups that he had to deal with on a daily basis.

"But would your double know that you were friends?"

"I suppose he would have noticed meetings with Wufei on my schedule," Quatre said with a frown.

"Did he ever ask about them?" Heero asked.

"Yes. There was a day when something came up last minute and he asked if I would like him to meet with Wufei. He seemed rather put out when I told him to go to the party with Relena instead. At the time I had assumed it was because his girlfriend didn't like him going out with Relena."

"Hang on, this guy had a girlfriend?" Duo asked.

"Yes. He was seeing her before I hired him."

"So when the papers reported seeing you with women other than Relena, was that him or you?" Trowa asked.

"It was him. Part of his contract stated that he was to act in a manner befitting the Winner name when he was out in public. Recently, however, his girlfriend dumped and he started acting out. That's how I got my current reputation for womanizing and drugs. Rashid and I had been discussing how to deal with him but then this email came and everything else got put on the back burner."

"Okay," Heero said. "Quatre, give Trowa the information he needs on your body double. Then you are to eat and you will not move from that table until that pizza is gone. No arguments."

Quatre sighed and nodded. He still wasn't hungry but he knew Heero was going to hold him hostage at the table until the pizza was gone.

"I'm going to reply to this email and see if we can get them to respond," Heero continued. "Duo…make sure Quatre eats."

Duo rolled his eyes and sat at the table across from Quatre's plate of pizza. He knew that Heero had assigned Trowa to look up Quatre's body double to keep him from picking on Quatre while Heero was busy. He had no idea why Trowa was acting the way he was, but he didn't like it. They had more important things to worry about so Duo let it go. For now.

Quatre sat at the table and stared at the plate of pizza.

"Better eat up," Duo told him. "The sooner you do the sooner Heero'll get off your case about it. You know how single-minded he can be."

Quatre nodded. He knew. He picked up the pizza and took another bite. It was still tasteless.

"Hey, want a soda to wash it down?" Duo asked.

Quatre nodded. Perhaps that would help the taste. Duo brought him over a soda and a glass of ice. Quatre poured himself a drink and managed to finish one slice of pizza before Heero announced, "Jackpot."

* * *

 **A/N: Okay, not much of a bomb, but it's still a bit of a cliffhanger...  
**


	14. Chapter 14

"They responded pretty quick," Trowa said, glancing over Heero's shoulder. "They must have been watching for it."

Heero nodded. "They're definitely after Quatre for some reason. This message says that they had hoped Relena's disappearance would move things along quicker."

"Well…I guess they got what they wanted, then," Quatre said softly. "What do they expect me to do now?"

"They gave me the coordinates to meet with them," Heero said.

"Hang on," Duo interrupted. "Are we using Quatre as bait?"

"In a way," Heero admitted. "They are expecting Quatre at this location tomorrow. From there we should be able to find out where they're keeping Relena and Wufei by following them back to their base."

"What if they realize they're being followed?" Quatre asked. "I don't want them hurting Relena or Trina. We can't give them an excuse."

Heero nodded. "I agree. That's why the message I sent said that you took so long to get back to them because you were recruiting a Gundam Pilot to their cause. They seem pretty happy about it."

"Okay," Quatre said slowly. "So who's going with me, then?"

"I'll be going in with you," Heero said. "Duo will track our location and help with the extraction. Trowa will assist Duo unless he is needed to infiltrate further."

"So who are we supposed to be going after first?" Duo asked. "Ideally, you guys'd get Relena and the kid while Trowa gets Wufei and Sally, but who's the priority if we're forced to choose?"

"With Wufei back, it would give us more allies to launch a second rescue," Trowa pointed out.

"That's true," Quatre said. "But they're more likely to hurt Trina because they know we'd do anything to keep Relena and her little girl safe. Wufei can fend for himself if he needs to."

"I think Quatre's right," Duo said. "What do you think, Heero?"

Heero nodded. "Trowa's point is valid. It would be ideal to have Chang available to help us. However, if we need to, the child gets priority, followed by Relena and Sally."

Trowa nodded and went back to his computer to see what he could find out about Quatre's body double, a man named Paul Silver.

"Quatre, you need to finish eating," Heero said. "We all need to be well rested and ready to go tomorrow."

Quatre nodded and went back to his pizza. He had to force it down, but he had it gone by the time Trowa found what they were looking for.

"You'll never guess who Paul Silver is related to," Trowa said.

"Who?" Duo asked.

"He's cousin to Dorothy Catalonia. And get this, she's been reported as missing."


	15. Chapter 15

**A/N: Sorry these updates are taking so long. I wanted to get another chapter of Silent Companion ready to go before I posted more on this story but my muse doesn't want to work on that chapter. It keeps skipping it to work on later chapters. So, it is coming, albeit very slowly at the moment which is why I decided to go ahead and post more on this story for now. Enjoy.**

* * *

"Dorothy's missing, too?" Quatre asked with a frown. "Do you think they took her as well as Relena?"

"Why would they take Dorothy? She couldn't be used against any of us," Duo said.

Quatre cleared his throat. "Actually…"

"Don't tell me you've got the hots for Dorothy!" Duo said. "That's totally too weird. She tried to kill you, remember?"

"Yes, Duo, I remember," Quatre muttered. "If you had let me finish you would know that I was going to say that Dorothy and Relena are very good friends. So good that Trina calls her Auntie Dottie. They could have taken Dorothy because of Relena's relationship with her."

"One thing is clear," Heero said. "They know who you associate with, Quatre. I think that the evidence points to your double."

Quatre sighed. "Yes, I believe you're right. So what do we do now?"

"There's not much we can do. We need to prepare as much as possible for our meeting tomorrow. We don't know what they've got up their sleeves so we'll need to be ready for anything," Heero said. "I think it would be wise for all of us to go to bed early tonight."

The rest of the day was spent preparing the rescue mission. Heero insisted that Quatre rest.

"We can't let them know you're injured. They could use that against you," he pointed out.

Quatre agreed to rest as long as he wasn't held prisoner in the guest room. Instead, he watched a movie while Heero and Trowa discussed their course of action. Duo went out for a 'walk' and returned with three very full duffle bags that "fell off a truck." The bags held explosives and other supplies they would need to infiltrate the enemy and retrieve Relena, Wufei, Sally, and Trina.

After dinner, Heero insisted on an early bedtime.

"Where should I crash tonight?" Duo asked.

"Wherever you want," Heero said with a shrug. "Do you have a preference?"

Duo shrugged and looked at Quatre. "Mind if I bunk with you again?"

Quatre shook his head. "It doesn't bother me."

Duo grinned. "It'll be like old times. Remember that time we hid out at the Maganac's base?"

"Of course I do. It was right after…right after Heero detonated," Quatre finished quietly. He looked at Heero. "I really hope it doesn't come down to that this time."

Heero shrugged. He did whatever the mission demanded. That was no secret.

Quatre frowned. "I want a promise from each of you right now that there will be no self-detonating on this mission."

Duo grinned and nodded. Trowa rolled his eyes but he also nodded. Quatre looked at Heero.

Heero looked back.

"Heero?"

"I will do whatever is necessary to retrieve Relena. My safety is not—"

"Don't you dare say that, Yuy! Your life is just as important as everyone else's." Quatre glared at Heero. "Either I have your word that you will do whatever is necessary to stay alive or Duo will come with me and you can cause the distraction." When Heero looked like he was about to argue, Quatre said, "Do you have any idea how devastated Relena will be if anything happens to you? You can't go in to rescue her with the end goal of getting killed. Will you promise me not to self-detonate or not?"

Heero blinked in surprise. He hadn't thought about Relena's reaction to his (hypothetical) death. He had been focusing only on the success of the mission, which may require him to sacrifice his life for the good of the others. Quatre had made him see that Relena would expect him to be there afterwards. He slowly nodded.

"Good," Quatre said, trying to hide a yawn. "I'm going to bed. I'll see you all in the morning."

Duo took over the bathroom in order to change into a pair of sleep pants and a t-shirt while Quatre borrowed a pair of shorts and another shirt from Heero to sleep in. Trowa stretched out on the couch and waited for the others to retreat to their respective rooms. Then he silently got up, rummaged through the drawers in Heero's kitchen until he found a piece of paper and a pen, and then sat at the table and began to write.


	16. Chapter 16

The next morning, everyone was tense with anticipation. Duo and Trowa divvied up the contents of the black duffle bags while Heero checked Quatre's injuries one last time. He was concerned that the cut on Quatre's arm was getting infected, but he didn't want to say anything and worry the blonde. Instead he decided that they would just have to wrap this whole thing up quickly and let Sally look at it.

"Is everyone ready to go?" Heero asked two hours later.

Everyone affirmed that they were, indeed, ready.

"Good. Are there any questions?"

There were no questions, so Heero and Quatre got into Heero's car while Duo and Trowa took Trowa's. Heero and Quatre were to meet a contact at a local diner. Duo and Trowa would follow and observe from a safe distance.

Heero briefed Quatre in the car. "We are to ask the waitress for a double stack of blueberry pancakes and a cup of Darjeeling tea. When she tells us that they don't have that kind of tea, you are to respond, 'That's okay, I'd rather have a black coffee instead.' She will then seat us in a corner booth where we will wait for our contact to ask if we've found his lost kitten."

Quatre nodded. "How do we respond to that?"

"I will ask if he's checked behind the building. At that point we will offer to help him look for it and we will follow him out. Their transport will be waiting behind the diner. Duo has an extra set of keys to my car, not that he's likely to use them, but Trowa will follow the van and Duo will wait for a little bit before bringing my car to keep them from getting suspicious. I suspect that they'll be watching for us to arrive and will know which car is mine. Duo and Trowa will park a few miles away from wherever we're being taken so their vehicles aren't noticed. We'll need both cars in order to be able to get everyone home without Duo having to steal a bus."

Quatre nodded. "Sounds good. Is there anything that I should be doing?"

Heero glanced at Quatre. "I don't want you to take this the wrong way. I don't want you to do anything but follow along until it's time to make a run for it."

Quatre frowned. "How is that helping?"

"For one thing, you're still injured. We can't ignore that. I don't want you to risk injuring yourself further when it isn't necessary. And you are also our ace up the sleeve. We want them to think that you're cooperating so that they won't use Relena or her child as hostages. We can't compromise their safety."

"I agree. When should I reveal my true colors?"

"I trust you to be able to read the situation. I wish I could plan for the way this will go down, but there are too many unknowns. To be honest, I think that for you not to act right away is going to be the most difficult thing about this mission. They will expect me to have some reservations about their plans but you need to agree and go along with them until we can secure Relena. Trowa and Duo will monitor the situation from their side and move in to retrieve Wufei accordingly."

They pulled into the diner and looked around casually as they got out of the car. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary, which was good. It meant that innocent bystanders wouldn't suspect anything. Quatre tried to act normal, but he realized that people were still supposed to be on the lookout for him. He wondered if he ought to have tried to disguise himself in some way, but brushed off the thought as he realized that wearing a disguise might look suspicious and cause him to stand out. If anyone recognized him he would just tell them that everyone thought he looked like Quatre Winner.

"Do you remember what to order?" Heero asked softly as they approached the door.

Quatre nodded and walked confidently up to the counter to order. Once the waitress seated them in the corner booth, Quatre and Heero tried to look nonchalant as they kept an eye open for their contact.

The waitress brought over their food and an envelope. Quatre opened it.

 _Terribly sorry but there's been a change of plans. You will need to meet us at a more secure location. Travel south on Bayberry Street until it becomes a dirt road. Follow that for three miles then turn left at the fork in the road. Follow it to the river. We will meet you there._

Quatre looked at Heero. "Should we eat first?"

"It will look suspicious if we don't."

Quatre nodded and started in on his stack of pancakes. Heero also ate some of his pancakes and drank some of his coffee. When he had judged that they'd eaten enough to get away with leaving, Heero got up to pay the tab. Quatre followed him out the door, hoping that he hadn't been identified. Nobody said anything but some people had stared at him.

Once inside the car, Quatre said, "I hope we can wrap this up quickly. Relena must be so worried. And I hate the looks everyone is giving me."

Heero chuckled. "That's the price of being famous."

Quatre snorted. "You can have it. I'd rather have my privacy back."

Heero pulled a cheap cell phone out of his pocket. "Call Trowa on this. It can't be traced. Tell him the new instructions so they can adjust their plan of attack."

It didn't take long for Quatre to relay the new information and the rest of the ride was quiet. They kept their eyes open for signs of ambush. Once they turned at the fork in the road they tensed further, knowing that they were at the point of no return. It was a straight shot to the river. There was no way they hadn't been seen. There was a nondescript white van with no windows parked next to the river. It looked like any average delivery van, except that it didn't have anything to suggest what company it worked for.

Heero pulled up next to it and turned off the car. He looked at Quatre. "I'll follow you over so that it looks like I'm here because you asked me to be."

Quatre nodded and got out of the car. Once they were both out of the car, the back doors to the van opened and four armed men got out. Quatre and Heero patiently held their hands up as they were searched for weapons and wires.

"You won't be needing these," one of the men said as he confiscated their cell phones. Once they were deemed free of any contraband, they were led to the open doors of the van and told to climb in.

Once inside, they were greeted by none other than Dorothy Catalonia.


	17. Chapter 17

**A/N: Sorry about the delay!**

* * *

"Quatre Reberba Winner and Heero Yuy. It is a pleasure to see you both," Dorothy said smoothly. "I am so glad that you were able to respond to our request."

Dorothy gestured for them to sit down and buckle up and then ordered the driver to leave.

"I'm surprised that you didn't locate the other Gundam Pilots, Quatre," Dorothy said conversationally.

"We're not exactly friends anymore," Quatre told her. "We didn't keep in touch and I didn't have time to track them down. I only knew where Heero was because Relena had his information in her address book. It was, fortunately, still current."

"You mean you don't keep in touch with the others aside from your regular visits with Wufei, right?" Dorothy asked with a sickeningly sweet tone.

Quatre wondered if she was asking about Wufei to see if he knew the Shenlong pilot was missing or if she really didn't know that he had been abducted with Sally. Unfortunately her expression didn't give anything away so he chose to act as though he didn't know anything.

"I haven't seen Wufei in nearly three months," Quatre said. "His work with the Preventers keeps him very busy and as of this morning, he hadn't responded to my email."

Dorothy nodded and looked at Heero. "So what's your excuse?"

Heero shrugged. "We don't keep in touch. Duo sends out a Christmas card every other year or so and it always has a new return address. Trowa doesn't talk to anyone as far as I know. Wufei only contacts me if he needs assistance on a Preventer's case and even then, it's only after he's gotten approval from Colonel Une, which you can guess doesn't happen overly often. I haven't spoken to Chang in over a year."

Dorothy didn't look like she believed him but she shrugged. "Well, maybe we can provide the resources for you to contact them and see if they would like to join our cause as well."

"What, exactly, is your cause, Dorothy?" Quatre asked. "It would be nice to know what we're getting ourselves into."

Dorothy smiled. "There's the smart Quatre that I remember. Always making sure to be informed so you can put that strategic little mind to work. I'm only supposed to escort you in. Then you'll have to talk to our commander."

The rest of the ride was spent in silence. Quatre supposed that they could have attempted small talk with Dorothy, but he knew that Heero wasn't really interested in anything Dorothy would have had to say and he wasn't sure he could keep his anger in check if he asked about Relena and Trina.

When the van stopped Dorothy said, "I'll keep this simple. Follow me. Don't ask questions until the commander gives you leave to do so. Don't try to talk to anyone; they're under orders not to speak to you until the commander gives them clearance." Dorothy fixed Quatre with a serious look. "We are _all_ on very thin ice at the moment. Play your cards right if you want to keep Trina and Relena safe."


	18. Chapter 18

**A/N: Okay, kids. Now we're getting somewhere. Enjoy.**

* * *

Quatre and Heero followed Dorothy through the building and into the elevator. She pushed the button for the eighth floor and they rode up in silence.

Just before the doors opened, Dorothy said, "Remember what I said, Quatre. You need to play your cards right."

Quatre nodded and silently followed Dorothy out of the elevator, Heero on his heels. They walked down a quiet corridor and Dorothy led them into a meeting room. There was a sturdy oak table lined with chairs. Sitting at the end of the table was an older man in a grey pin-striped suit. He had dark hair that was going grey at the temples and a tidy mustache.

He gestured for them to sit in the chairs to his left. "Thank you, Miss Catalonia. You may leave now. Mr. Winner, I am pleased that you were able to accept our invitation. And _very_ pleased that you were able to recruit a Gundam Pilot to our cause."

"Just what _is_ your cause Mr..." Heero waited for the man to supply his name.

"You may call me Mr. Fox. Our cause is simple. The Earth and the Colonies are not getting along. I'm sure you've seen the news reports of the product restrictions and increased security in the Colonies. Unfortunately, those actions are the result of a corrupt system. The Earth's Senate has enacted these changes without the approval of the Colony representatives. Are you familiar with the American Revolutionary War?"

Heero shook his head. Why would he care about something that happened so long ago?

"I see. Well, in short, at the time America was a colony to England. England placed taxes and restrictions on products and travel, quite similar to what we have now between Earth and the Colonies. What ended up happening was the people of the American Colonies got fed up with the whole thing and declared war on England. Their battle cry was 'No taxation without representation.' That is, unfortunately, where we seem to be headed even now."

Heero nodded.

"So our cause is to stop a war like that from happening. You can understand that, can't you? I mean, we've only just begun to heal from the last war and now people are clamoring for it again."

Heero nodded. Quatre also nodded, but inside he wondered what this man was really up to. If his intentions had been pure, why had he not set up an appointment and spoken to him directly? Why had he gone through all of this folderol to get his attention?

"What we hope to accomplish is to unite the Colonies and the Earth once again."

"And how do you intend to do that?" Heero asked.

"It's quite simple. We're going to have to use force."

"Force?" Quatre asked.

Mr. Fox nodded. "Oh, yes. You see, the last five years have been all talk, talk, talk. And yet, peace is starting to fall apart. So clearly, the people need a reminder that those with the power _can_ and will use it if necessary."

"But you're not going to attack innocent bystanders, are you?" Quatre asked, unable to keep the concern out of his voice.

Heero shot him a look, but Mr. Fox didn't seem to notice.

"No, no, no, of course not," he replied smoothly. "We only want a show of force to begin with. We'll only use that force if it becomes necessary to get the point across."

Heero nodded. "That seems reasonable. How do we accomplish this?"

Mr. Fox beamed at Heero. "Oh, I'm so glad that you asked! We hope to have the Gundam Pilots stand beside us. We figure if we can get the people to see reason, they'll be more accommodating. Everyone knows that the Gundam Pilots are the most feared and respected pilots to survive the Eve Wars. If they can see that you're with us, the people are sure to follow."

"And if they don't?" Heero asked carefully.

Mr. Fox shrugged. "Well, a little well-planned target practice might be in order. I'm sure that a little demonstration will put a little sense into people."

Heero nodded. Quatre wasn't entirely sure that Heero was only playing along, but he knew he should trust the Wing pilot. Heero wouldn't do anything to knowingly put Relena in danger and getting on this man's good side was the only way they were going to find out where she was.

Quatre cleared his throat. "I hope you won't think me rude, but I am concerned for the wellbeing of my wife and child. You did take them rather abruptly and you should know that I'm not very happy about it."

Mr. Fox nodded. "I completely understand. And if you weren't concerned, I'd think that you were up to something. Before I take you to see your wife, I wanted to know if the other four Gundam Pilots will be joining us."

Quatre looked at Heero. Clearly, Dorothy had _not_ informed this man that Wufei and Quatre were Gundam pilots as well. Did that mean she wasn't working with these people willingly?

Heero said, "I have not heard back from them yet. I sent them a message when Mr. Winner contacted me. If you can give me access to a computer I can see if they have responded and possibly send another message out."

Mr. Fox thought that over for a moment before nodding slowly. "Yes…perhaps they have not had time to respond. I shall give you the computer access you need and then we shall wait for a few days before making our announcement. It wouldn't be fair to start the fun without them if they want to join in."

Quatre kept his relief to himself. They would have a few days to stop this. It was probably more time than they needed, but it was nice to know that they weren't expected to start bombing the Earth in the next few hours.

"Now, if you will follow me, we have a few little things to take care of."

Quatre didn't like the way Mr. Fox said that. He knew that the man's proposition _sounded_ reasonable, but again, Quatre had to trust his gut on this one. This man was definitely up to more than he claimed.

Heero and Quatre followed Mr. Fox out into the hallway where they were immediately grabbed by armed guards and put in handcuffs.

"HEY! What is this?!" Heero demanded.

"It's merely a precaution," Mr. Fox said soothingly. "We know of your reputation, Wing Pilot and also of Mr. Winner's…ahem…previous training with his bodyguard. As I mentioned before we have some things to take care of. One of those things is seeing how you react to being taken prisoner. After all, we can't have you spilling all our secrets should anything go wrong."

Mr. Fox snapped his fingers and Heero and Quatre found themselves being pulled quickly through the building.


	19. Chapter 19

**A/N: Sorry for the delay. Hopefully the length makes up for the wait. And I'm upping the rating, just to be on the safe side.  
**

* * *

Quatre worked to stay calm as they were taken through the building and down several flights of stairs until they were several stories underground. He wanted to know where Relena and Trina were. He couldn't bear the thought of sweet little Trina being held like a prisoner in this dungeon.

"How much farther is it?" he asked, trying to keep his tone conversational.

"A few more flights," his guard answered. "Don't worry about it."

Quatre glanced at Heero and could see murder smoldering behind Prussian blue eyes. He tried to signal to Heero to stay calm and not blow their cover but he could tell that Heero was reverting to Perfect Soldier mode and was likely to try an escape because that was what he was trained to do in this type of situation.

"Um…excuse me," Quatre said.

"What?" his guard snapped.

"Well, you didn't tell us your names. What should we call you?"

"That's none of your concern. You're not likely to see us again. The boss likes to keep us rotated so that nobody knows from day to day where they're going to be or what they're going to be doing. So it's not important that you know who we are."

"Ah. I see," Quatre said. "Well, I just thought you ought to know that the pilot is getting rather aggravated by this treatment. He isn't really used to it and I'm sure his training is still intact. I wouldn't want it to kick in and take us all by surprise."

Quatre's guard looked at Heero. "Calm down, buddy, we're not the enemy. Colston, ease up a little. He's more dangerous when he's cornered."

Heero's guard, Colston, loosened his grip a little, but his expression said that he thought that was a bad idea.

"Heero," Quatre said. "It's okay. Stand down."

The anger in Heero's eyes deflated somewhat and he shook his head. Quatre watched his friend until Heero looked at him and nodded. He was in control again.

"That's better," Quatre said. "Shall we continue?"

After that, the guards allowed them to walk on their own, but stayed in close proximity. Quatre and Heero weren't going to do anything until they knew where Relena and Wufei were so they were quite content to follow orders until then.

The guards led them to a door. "You'll stay in here until we come to get you for the next set of tests. They ought to be bringing you food in a couple of hours."

Quatre nodded. "Thank you."

Once inside the small room, Quatre and Heero were released from the handcuffs.

"Just don't cause any trouble and things'll be just fine," Quatre's guard said as he shut the door and locked them inside.

Heero looked around the small room. "Surveillance cameras there, there, there, and there," he observed quietly, barely moving his mouth.

Quatre looked around as well, taking in the obvious cameras. "I doubt that's all they've got here," he responded the same way.

Heero nodded. "So," he said, raising his voice to a normal level, "what do you think they've got planned for us?"

Quatre shrugged. "Mr. Fox said they wanted to be sure we wouldn't talk if taken prisoner, so I imagine they've got a series of tests for us to complete. I hope they don't take it too far and torture us, though. If they did their research on the Gundam Pilots they should know that you've already been trained in that area."

Heero nodded. He knew what Quatre was up to. The blonde was making it very obvious that Heero wasn't going to be cracked. The possible outcomes to this knowledge were either, a) Heero wouldn't be tortured at all or b) Heero would be tortured to see how much he could handle before he broke. Heero and Quatre both hoped that option "a" was what Fox went with.

Quatre sat on a small cot in the corner. "I suppose we might as well rest since there's nothing else to do at the moment. We don't know when they'll want us."

Heero nodded and sat on a second cot on the other side of the room.

Quatre laid down and stared at the ceiling. He wondered if Wufei was in a similar room. He wondered where Relena and Sally were. He hoped that Trina wasn't scarred for life over this experience. He knew that children could be resilient, but they were also very fragile. Even though she wasn't his child, if she was hurt, there would be consequences.

Relena had told the world that they had married in secret and that Trina was his child. In truth, she stayed at one of his many mansions on Earth and raised Trina with money that he gave her while he stayed on L4 and ran Winner Enterprises. He made regular trips to Earth to keep up the façade of their marriage, but when they were alone, he was more like a doting uncle to little Trina. He loved spoiling her and Relena was more than happy to let him. She had told him once that Trina needed a loving male role model because little girls learned how women should be treated by the men in their lives. Quatre always made sure to treat Relena and Trina like ladies because he expected Trina to grow up knowing that women were to be respected and not to tolerate being treated poorly.

His thoughts about Trina led Quatre to wonder who had fathered her. Relena didn't know. Quatre had no idea who was at that party that night. Though, if it was a party that Relena was invited to, chances were that it was someone of high rank that should have known better. That made Quatre angry. Someone had taken advantage of Relena and then run away. The man was a coward and Quatre knew that if Heero got to him first, there wouldn't be enough left for the rest of them to take a shot at.

Time passed slowly. Heero eventually laid down as well, but Quatre knew that he was as tense as ever. After what felt like several hours, a soft music began to filter into the room. Quatre frowned. How was this torture?

Heero looked at Quatre and raised an eyebrow, clearly wondering the same thing. Very suddenly, the music changed from soft classical to loud, hard rock and roll, much like Duo liked to listen to. Quatre covered his ears and sat up. Heero also sat up, but didn't bother to cover his ears.

Talking would have been useless, the music was too loud, so Heero mouthed, 'Any idea what's going on?'

Quatre shook his head. He'd read about rock music being used as a method of torture during wars of a less technological age, but he hadn't realized how annoying it was. He knew that Duo wouldn't have had any problems sleeping through this music but he and Heero were definitely not accustomed to it. He wondered how much information Dorothy had given Mr. Fox about them. She had said that they were all on thin ice. Was she going along willingly or was she a pawn in all of this, as she had been before with Romafeller? She might have simply kept her information about Quatre and Wufei being Gundam pilots to herself to use later to some advantage. But then again, she loved Trina and Quatre knew she wouldn't let any harm come to the girl. While Quatre hoped that she wasn't going along willingly, he also hoped she wasn't being used again. She had the potential to be a very nice person but with everyone breaking her trust all the time she'd become rather standoffish and prickly.

The music died as quickly as it had started. Quatre cautiously put his hands down and looked at Heero.

"That was rather annoying," he said.

Heero nodded. "I'm not sure I want to wonder what they're going to do next."

Quatre agreed. "This seems like a waste of time. I wish they'd just tell us what they really want from us and get on with the whole thing. It isn't like we came here unwillingly."

Heero nodded again. "They're just toying with us." He stood up and looked directly into one of the cameras. "You should know that I'm getting quite bored with this whole thing. I don't suppose you'd like it if I changed my mind. I propose we act like adults instead of sadistic children with a new toy to take apart. I'm much more agreeable when I'm not annoyed."

Quatre had to stifle a laugh. That last bit was definitely true.

"Now, now," Mr. Fox's voice came over an intercom system. "Please be patient. I promise that these tests will not inconvenience you for more than a few moments at a time. I explained before that we needed to be certain you wouldn't talk if taken prisoner."

Heero snorted. "I'm a Gundam Pilot. Why don't you find some OZ leftovers and ask them how much we talk?"

Quatre was about to open his mouth and agree with Heero when it hit him that Heero was talking an awful lot. While he talked more now than he had during the wars, he still didn't usually talk that much.

"Heero," Quatre hissed.

Heero looked at Quatre.

"Something weird is going on."

Heero raised an eyebrow.

"You're talking too much," Quatre said softly.

It took only a second for Quatre's words to sink in. He glared at the camera. "You used the music to cover the sound of the gas you filled this room with, didn't you?"

"Very good," Mr. Fox's voice came over the intercom again. "You are very well trained. Even though the gas is odorless, it still makes noise when we release it from the canisters. The music was used to occupy you while we put our test into effect."

Somewhere, a fan started, clearing out the air in the room. Quatre thought it was interesting that the air seemed fresher and less heavy than before. He wondered what type of gas compound they'd used.

"Please feel free to relax. You have passed the first test with flying colors. The next test will take place after the evening meal." The intercom clicked off and Quatre went back to lying on the cot and staring at the ceiling.

Heero glowered at one of the cameras. "Either they trust us or they don't. I didn't agree to do this just to be treated like an enemy."

Quatre glanced at Heero. "I know. They're just taking precautions. It makes sense that they'd want to know whether or not we were really on board with them."

"I suppose." Heero didn't relax. He stayed on full alert. He was angry that the gas had almost been his undoing. If they found out that he and Quatre were planning to double cross them, it would put Relena in danger. "How do we know we can trust these guys?"

Quatre quirked an eyebrow. He wasn't sure how to answer that with the video cameras recording everything that they said. He wasn't sure if Heero was trying to make small talk for the benefit of the cameras or if he was truly concerned about how this was going.

"I mean that they don't trust us, so they're putting us through the ringer. What proof do we have that we can trust them in return? I don't like it."

Quatre sat up. "I know that your trust isn't easy to come by," he said carefully, still not sure what Heero was getting at. "So let me ask you this. Do you trust me?"

Heero nodded.

"Then…trust in my judgement. If I'm wrong then you can blame me for whatever happens, okay?"

Again, Heero nodded.

Both men turned as the door creaked open. A young woman entered with a tray of food. She put it on the floor and left without a word.

Heero frowned. "That seems odd."

Quatre shrugged. "There really wasn't anywhere else to put it and Dorothy mentioned that everyone here has been told not to speak to us. Perhaps it wasn't as odd as you think."

Heero grunted and reached for one of the plates. Each plate held a sandwich, half an apple and a glass of water. He stopped Quatre as he reached for a plate as well.

"Let me test it."

Quatre opened his mouth to protest but then reconsidered. If Mr. Fox was still observing them, as Quatre suspected he was, then he was probably expecting Heero to assume the food was poisoned. And since Mr. Fox didn't realize that Quatre was a Gundam Pilot, he probably expected Heero to do exactly what he was doing.

Heero carefully checked each item on the plates and took a small bite of everything. He then took a sip of each glass of water.

"Wait for ten minutes," he said. "If nothing happens, it should be fine."

"You really don't trust them, do you?" Quatre asked. He wasn't sure what possessed him to ask such an obvious question, but he asked anyway. Maybe some of the gas from the last test was still in the room.

Heero narrowed his eyes. "They abducted your wife and child to get you to cooperate. How can you trust them?"

Quatre considered how best to answer that. He had to be careful or he would arouse Mr. Fox's suspicions. "I'm not sure if I trust them yet. But considering that they want us here to help them, it would be kind of stupid to poison us right away, don't you think?"

"I suppose," Heero conceded. "But it's still suspicious behavior for them to display. Why are they being so obtuse about these so-called tests they're giving us? We came here willingly. We didn't bring the Preventers, even though they're looking for whoever abducted the former Prime Minister and we know who has her. These tests are a useless waste of time. I've got half a mind to call the whole thing off. I've got other things to do, you know."

Quatre wasn't sure how to respond to that. He knew that Heero was just trying to get Mr. Fox to hurry things along but they didn't know anything about the man. Heero might just be making him mad, which wouldn't bode well for any of them.

"The food's fine. You can eat," Heero said before taking a large bite of his sandwich.

Quatre could tell that Heero was getting frustrated with how things were going. They'd both hoped to be in and out with Relena and Wufei by now.

They ate in silence, each mulling over how to hurry things along. As soon as they finished eating the door opened. Two guards, different than the ones that had escorted them in, escorted them to another part of the dungeon.

"Looks like your new cell mate took the bed so you two will have to pull up some floor." The man laughed cruelly as he shoved Heero and Quatre inside and closed the door behind them.

Heero cautiously approached the bed, hoping it was Chang. It would be easier to escape if they were all in the same cell. He pulled back the edge of the blanket and his eyes widened as he recognized the occupant.

"Relena?!" Heero hadn't thought they would keep Relena somewhere like this. She _should_ have been treated with respect and given a more comfortable room. The only advantage to this arrangement was that they were together and if they stayed that way, extraction would be a little easier.

Relena's eyes slowly opened but as soon as she saw Heero, she bolted upright and pressed herself against the wall. He felt bad he'd woken her up. She looked as if she hadn't been eating or sleeping well for quite some time. It hadn't been obvious in the grainy feed of the restaurant's video.

"H-Heero?" Relena whispered the word as if she couldn't believe what she was seeing.

Heero knelt down. He hated the look of terror in her eyes. "Yes, Relena. I'm here and so is Quatre."

Relena looked around and her eyes locked on Quatre. "Quatre!" She jumped up from the bed and threw herself into his arms. She clung to him and started sobbing. "They took her…they took Trina!"

"We'll get her back," Quatre told her gently. "I promise." He looked over Relena's head and tried to express a silent apology to Heero. He knew Heero wanted to make amends with Relena but it wasn't going to be easy, especially with the state Relena was in and Quatre wasn't entirely sure this was the time for it anyway. It would be better if they could patch things up without worrying about Fox and whatever he was planning.

"Quatre," Relena whispered. "They don't know the truth about us. They _can't_ know the truth. They might do something to Trina if they find out. _Please_ play along. You have to get upset about them having her." The desperation in Relena's plea angered Quatre. First Rashid, now Relena. Whoever was going after his friends was asking for a very slow, painful death.

"I am upset," Quatre assured her softly. Then he raised his voice, making sure to sound angry since he was fairly certain this room was bugged like the last one. "If they hurt her, there will be hell to pay."

"It isn't her they're trying to hurt," Relena murmured.

"What do you mean?"

"They're trying to get to you by taking her and hurting me."

"They hurt you?!" Quatre carefully grabbed her by the biceps and peered down into her face. "Where are you hurt?"

Relena looked up at him as tears began flowing down her cheeks again. "Quatre…the man who…who…" She couldn't get the words out. She took several gulps of air and managed, "He…f-forced m-me again."


	20. Chapter 20

**A/N: Ack! I thought I updated this a couple of days ago! Sorry!**

* * *

"WHAT!?" Heero roared.

Relena could only bawl as she trembled in Quatre's embrace. Quatre held her tightly, trying to keep her grounded. This was worse than the last time. This time, she knew who had attacked her. She hadn't had the luxury of being unconscious. She had seen him and been completely helpless to defend herself.

"When did this happen?" Quatre asked, his voice steely with anger.

"O-on th-the w-way h-here," Relena choked out. "H-he…h-he s-said if I…if I d-didn't c-c-cooperate h-he….h-he w-would k-kill T-Trina."

This was a new low. Using a toddler as a means to get its mother to allow herself to be raped was disgusting. Quatre tightened his grip on her. He would find that vile creature and end it. Even if it meant using every resource he had access to, Quatre would keep him from doing this again.

"Who was it?" Heero demanded.

"I d-don't know his n-name. But h-he s-said he was…h-he w-as at th-the p-party that n-night and h-he…h-he," Relena covered her face in her hands and sobbed.

"What does he look like, then?"

"Heero," Quatre interrupted sharply. He lowered his voice before continuing in case the room was bugged. "I'm as angry as you are but there will be time for this later. We should let Relena rest while she can. We may have to move on a moment's notice."

Heero looked like he was going to argue but one look at Relena's exhausted and distraught expression made him agree. "Fine. You can tell us about it when you feel like it, Relena. Once we know who he is, we'll take care of him for you."

"I had no choice," Relena whispered miserably.

Heero wasn't sure she had heard what he said but he also wondered if his tone had been accusatory. He hadn't meant to make her feel like he thought it was her fault but in his anger at the situation it was possible that he came across that way. He wanted to clear it up but he wasn't sure how to apologize without making the situation worse. So he kept his mouth shut.

"We know," Quatre soothed. "It wasn't your fault. It was _never_ your fault. You did what you had to do this time to keep yourself and Trina alive. I want you to try and rest. Once we figure out what they want us to do we'll do it and get out of here, okay?"

"We need to get Sally out, too. They brought Sally here to take care of Trina."

Heero frowned. "Is that the only reason they brought Sally? They could have just let Trina stay with you."

Relena shrugged and wiped away some of her tears. "Th-they told me that they brought Sally to care for Trina while I was busy with…with what they wanted me to do."

"And what do they want you to do?" Heero asked.

"They want me to convince Quatre to fund their revolution. Th-they said that as his wife I should be able to get him to do whatever I want." Relena blinked back more tears and took a deep breath. "They said that if you don't cooperate…next time…they'll make you watch them hurt me."


	21. Chapter 21

"That _will not_ happen again," Quatre promised. "We're not letting you out of our sight. One of us will be with you at all times. They'll have to kill us before we let them touch you again."

Relena sniffled as she tried to make herself stop crying. She didn't make any move to leave Quatre's arms. Heero wasn't sure if that was because she was terrified of him or if it was because of the need to keep up the façade of them being husband and wife. Either way, he didn't want to make the situation worse so he didn't offer to comfort her.

"Why don't you two rest? I'll keep watch," Heero offered. He could do that much and he didn't want Quatre to overexert himself this early on. Heero had been watching Quatre closely and he could tell his arm was hurting. Quatre had flinched when Relena had thrown herself at him and hit his arm.

Quatre nodded and sat on the small cot. He pulled Relena onto it and got her to lay down with her head in his lap. "Everything will be fine," he told her. "Just trust us." Quatre gently stroked Relena's hair until she fell into a fitful doze. He looked at Heero. "She's not doing well. We need to end this as soon as possible."

Heero nodded. "Duo and Trowa should be making their move soon. We just need to play along and be ready."

The door to the cell opened. Heero glared as Mr. Fox entered the room flanked by two guards.

"You see, Mr. Winner, your wife is fine. Shall we complete the final test?"

" _Fine_? FINE?!" Quatre growled from his position on the cot. "You're lucky I don't order you ripped to pieces right now. One of your men raped my wife on the way over here and I will not help you until I strangle the bastard with my bare hands."

Relena stirred and her eyes opened. She sat up quickly and pushed herself into Quatre's side. Her eyes were wide with fear as she stared at Mr. Fox. Her lip quivered and her breathing quickened to the point of hyperventilating.

Mr. Fox chuckled cruelly. His eyes were cold and hard. "You want to strangle me with your bare hands, do you? Well, come on. I'm right here."


	22. Chapter 22

**A/N: Aaand I'm going to be evil and leave that last bomb hanging for a bit. Let's see what Duo and Trowa are up to!**

* * *

Duo and Trowa had easily tailed the unmarked truck without being seen. They watched through binoculars as Heero and Quatre were led inside the building by Dorothy Catalonia.

"I never trusted her," Duo muttered.

"Don't jump to conclusions," Trowa answered. "Not everything is as it seems."

Duo rolled his eyes. "I'm gonna go set some distractions."

"I don't think that's the best idea, Duo."

"Excuse me? Setting up a distraction is my part of this plan and you're supposed to help me do it. If you weren't gonna help why'd'ya come in the first place?"

"I just told you to stop jumping to conclusions," Trowa shot back. "We don't know where these guys are holding their hostages. If you set up explosives and hurt Relena or the little girl, Quatre will have your head. Let me go in and do some recon first. If I can spring Chang before we reveal our presence he can help us. I'll message you as soon as I find him so you know where to set your 'distractions' up."

Duo sighed. "Fine. But be quick about it. I wanna get it done and get outta here."

Trowa nodded and made his way quickly and silently to the building. He found a fire escape and climbed up the four stories to the roof. The lock on the rooftop entrance was easy to pick. Once inside, Trowa methodically searched the rooms on each floor, working his way down. Surprisingly, the top three floors were empty. All the rooms appeared to be abandoned offices. The doors had blank nameplates on them and there weren't any guards. Trowa began to feel uneasy. This wasn't normal and that made him tense because he wasn't sure what to expect once he reached the first floor.

He listened intently before opening the door on the first floor landing. It was quiet. He inched the door open and made sure the coast was clear. He walked through the corridors, concerned about the apparent lack of security. Where was everyone?

Trowa's question was answered when he happened upon a room equipped with pool tables, arcade style video games, and a large flat-screen television. People in guard uniforms were everywhere, but they certainly weren't concerned about security. They were laughing, drinking sodas, eating snacks, playing games and watching a football game. They certainly weren't a threat at the moment, so Trowa decided to move on and see if he could find a locker room. If he could change into a uniform, nobody would notice anything he did. Two doors down, he found what he was looking for.

It didn't take long to change into a uniform and slip back into the hallway unnoticed. Now that he didn't have to sneak around, his search would go much faster. He made his way around the floor as quickly as he dared without arousing suspicion. The only rooms he noticed being guarded were down the same hallway. He walked nonchalantly down the hall. As he passed the first guarded room, he could hear Wufei yelling threats at the guards. He secretly pitied anyone that got in the Chinese man's way when he was let loose. Trowa hadn't heard him that angry since the time Duo decided to paint Wufei's room pink for April Fool's Day. The next room with guards was down and across the hall from Wufei's. A large window allowed Trowa to get a glimpse inside. It was a playroom. He didn't see anyone inside but there was another set of doors behind the play equipment. He could see a light underneath one of the doors. He would bet anything that's where Relena's little girl was. Considering the time of day, it was probably nap or snack time.

There was one last set of doors being guarded. Trowa hoped he would find Sally or Relena behind them, though he hoped that Relena hadn't been separated from her child. As he approached the last set of doors, one of the guards turned to him.

"Finally! It took you long enough to get here, Colston. They're just about ready."

Before Trowa had a chance to register anything other than the fact that the other guard thought his name was Colston, the door opened and Quatre and Heero emerged with another man. The guard pulled out handcuffs and slapped them on Heero's wrists before pushing Heero at Trowa. Trowa played his part and held Heero while the other guard handcuffed Quatre as well.

"Hey! What is this?" Heero pulled against Trowa's hold. Trowa knew Heero wasn't putting much effort into trying to get away, it was all for show, so he played along as well.

"It's merely a precaution," the other man said. Trowa could hear the slime in the man's voice. "We know of your reputation, Wing Pilot and also of Mr. Winner's…ahem…previous training with his bodyguard. As I mentioned before we have some things to take care of. One of those things is seeing how you react to being taken prisoner. After all, we can't have you spilling all our secrets should anything go wrong."

Trowa wanted to roll his eyes. If this guy _really_ knew of Heero's reputation he would know that he was trained to withstand torture and that this so-called test was a complete waste of time.

The man snapped his fingers and Trowa followed the other guard down the hall. Heero started out calmly enough but Trowa could feel the Wing Pilot tensing up as they descended to the lower levels.

"How much farther is it?" Quatre asked.

He was worried. Trowa could tell. He wondered if the blonde was going to make a break for it.

"Don't worry about it," the other guard answered gruffly.

Quatre glanced at Heero and Trowa caught his eye. He couldn't tell what Quatre was thinking. Trowa found that that bothered him. When they were younger he had always been able to read Quatre like a book. It had made things easier when they were working together like this. They were able to communicate silently but it seemed they couldn't do that anymore. This wasn't the time for that, though. Quatre had continued to speak to the other guard and Trowa realized that the guard had addressed him.

"Ease up a little. He's more dangerous when he's cornered."

Trowa frowned, wondering if Heero was really about to lose it or if he was merely getting ready to make a break for it. Trowa didn't know if he should be ready to run or just keep playing the role he'd found himself in. Quatre looked very deliberately at Trowa before turning his attention to Heero.

"Heero, it's okay. Stand down."

Heero shook his head and nodded.

"That's better. Shall we continue?" Quatre asked, again looking at Trowa.

Trowa wished he knew what it was Quatre wanted from him. Was he trying to tell him some new plan or was he waiting for Trowa to tell him something? The disconnect between them was making this so much harder. Trowa noticed that the other guard had let Quatre go completely, so he did the same with Heero, walking just behind him to keep up the ruse.

One advantage to the situation was that Trowa was able to take stock of the layout of the prison level. He hoped he would have time to search the cells and find Sally before "Colston" was expected to do anything else.

Because he was so lost in thought, Trowa almost walked into Heero when they stopped outside a door. The other guard opened the room and once Quatre and Heero were inside, he released them from their handcuffs.

"You'll stay in here until we come to get you for the next set of tests. They ought to be bringing you food in a couple of hours."

"Thank you," Quatre said, again shooting a look at Trowa just before the door was shut.

Trowa started wandering down the hallway but the other guard stopped him.

"Colston, come on. You know we don't have clearance to go that way. What are you thinkin' man? Let's get a cold one and relax for a bit. Fox'll give us our next orders soon enough."

Trowa couldn't see any way of continuing without blowing his cover, so he followed the other guard back up to the break room. He slipped back into the locker room and changed out of the uniform. He knew where Wufei was and he was 99% positive he knew where the child was. That was good enough for a start so he quickly made his way back out to Duo.

Duo had gotten tired of waiting and decided to start setting up some small explosives around one side of the building.

"Took you long enough," Duo grumbled when he saw Trowa. "What've ya got?"

Trowa gave Duo a general layout of the interior of the building and told him what he'd found out about Wufei, the child, and what had happened to Quatre and Heero.

"Okay, so let's get some of these set up and then we'll sneak back in and get everyone out and I can remote detonate to give us some cover while we make a break for it," Duo said.

Trowa nodded. "Sounds good to me. It might be a good idea to set up multiple strains in case we need to buy more time to find Sally. I'm pretty sure Relena will be with her daughter but I couldn't find Sally anywhere. You know Wufei won't leave without her."

"Good point. Let's do that, then. Here…take these and head that way around the building. I'll start here and go the other way and we'll meet up in the middle. It'll be faster that way."

"Just be careful. I didn't notice any video cameras but that doesn't mean there aren't any," Trowa warned.

Duo smirked. "What do you think I was doin' while you were playing around inside? I made sure the cameras are out of order, both inside and outside."

Once the charges were set, Trowa led Duo up to the roof. The plan was simple. They would take out the guards, get Wufei and Relena, and then Trowa would take them and the little girl to the rendezvous point. Then Duo would head down to the basement and try to find Sally before springing Heero and Quatre. They both hoped that Trowa would have enough of a head start to get his group away before Duo triggered the big bombs because having the child was likely to slow them down and they weren't sure what condition Wufei was in, though Trowa suspected he was fine given how much he had been ranting and raving.

Knowing that the upper floors were empty, they hurried through. Just as they were about to enter the stairwell to head to the first floor, they were stopped by none other than Dorothy Catalonia.


	23. Chapter 23

"I shoulda known you'd try to stop us," Duo growled as he reached for his gun.

"Oh please," Dorothy said, rolling her eyes. "If I was going to stop you I would have done it long ago."

Duo blinked in surprise. "Huh?"

"Who do you think told all the guards to take a break instead of guarding these upper levels?" Dorothy asked, putting her hands on her hips. "The fact is that I got brought in on this thing against my will and I'm pissed that they took Relena and Trina. They don't know who they're messing with."

"Explanations will have to wait until later," Trowa said. "Did you have a plan or should we fill you in on ours and go from there?"

Dorothy gave him a feral grin. "My plan is for you two to take Trina, Sally and Wufei and get out of here. I can get down to the lower levels to find Relena and release Quatre and Heero without arousing suspicion, which will buy us a little more time."

Trowa nodded. "How do we take the others without alerting the guards?"

"Mr. Fox has asked for guards to accompany him when he goes to speak to Quatre. I'll order a change of guards on Wufei's and Trina's rooms and then send the new guards with Mr. Fox instead, leaving the rooms unguarded while everyone else assumes that it's someone else's shift."

"That would work. So where's Sally?" Duo asked.

"They brought her here to take care of Trina. Sally should be in the nursery with her."

Trowa nodded. "We have explosives rigged to take this place down and we can use them as a distraction if necessary."

"Good," Dorothy said. "There is a small problem. I don't have the keys to their rooms and I have no idea where they would be."

Duo smirked. "Leave that to me."

Dorothy nodded. "Wait here and I'll come get you when it's time to move."

As soon as Dorothy left them Duo asked, "Are you sure we should be trusting her?"

"I trust her."

Duo frowned but didn't say anything else. He decided that if Dorothy double crossed them, he'd just take her out. Then he could set off the explosives and they could go with their original plan.

It didn't take long for Dorothy to come back. She led them to the hallway where Wufei and Trina were being held. "Head down that side hallway there once you have them. The door at the end leads outside and then you can make a break for it." Dorothy left them to go look for Relena, Quatre, and Heero.

Trowa looked through the window while Duo unlocked Trina's door. He didn't see anyone inside but there was a light on underneath one of the back doors. He wondered if those would be locked as well.

Once Trina's door was unlocked, Trowa went inside. He tried the knob on the back door and was relieved to find it unlocked.

"What do you want?" Sally's voice demanded before he had the door open.

"To get you out."

"Trowa?!" Sally pushed the door open and threw her arms around his neck. "I'm so glad to see you! Where's Wufei?"

"Duo went to get him. Come on, we don't have much time. Where's the kid?"

Trowa looked over Sally's head and saw that they were in a small kitchen. A little girl was sitting in a high chair, munching on pieces of hot dog. She stopped eating when she noticed Trowa and looked at him with big blue eyes.

"She looks like a miniature of Relena," Trowa said softly.

Sally nodded. "Yes and she can be just as stubborn when she wants to be. Come on, Trina. We're going exploring."

"Why?"

Sally's shoulders slumped. "That's her favorite question," she murmured to Trowa. To Trina, she said, "My friend wants to show us something outside."

"What?"

"It's a surprise! But we have to hurry so we can get back before bedtime." Sally was trying to keep her tone light so that Trina wouldn't figure out that something was out of the ordinary.

Trina stuffed another piece of hot dog in her mouth while she thought this over.

Trowa knew they didn't have time for this, but if Trina wasn't quiet while they made their escape, there would be trouble. If she went willingly, they could avoid a tantrum. Trowa went over to Trina and knelt down so he was at eye level with her. "Will you come with me? I promise you'll like the surprise."

"Is mommy going to be there? The mean man doesn't let me see her."

"Mommy should be coming, too," Trowa told her. "Why don't we see if we can beat her there and surprise her?"

Trina's face lit up. "Okay!" She reached her hands up for Trowa to pick her up and he did so quickly.

Sally hesitated for half a second, wondering if she should grab anything for Trina but decided against it. She didn't want to be weighed down with anything in case they had to make a run for it. She followed Trowa into the hallway where they met up with Duo and Wufei.

Wufei was leaning heavily on Duo. "Sally! Are you alright?"

"I'm fine, Wufei." She supported him on his other side. "How's your knee?"

Wufei scowled. "Don't worry about me, woman. Let's just go."

"Sally, maybe you should take Trina and I'll help Wufei," Trowa suggested.

"No," Wufei said. "You take Trina. If you need to leave me behind, do so, but get her out of here at any cost."

Trina stuck her thumb in her mouth and looked wide-eyed at Wufei. Trowa hoped she didn't start crying.

"Enough talk, let's get goin'!" Duo said.

The group headed for the hallway that Dorothy had pointed out but just before they reached it, a guard came around the corner.

"HEY!"

"I was hopin' we wouldn't need this so soon," Duo muttered as he grabbed his remote detonator and pushed a button.


	24. Chapter 24

**A/N: Thanks for all the reviews. I hope the next update doesn't take so long.**

* * *

Quatre stood, making sure Relena was behind him. "How _dare_ you come to me for help and then treat my wife in such a shameful manner? Where is my daughter? We're leaving," he growled.

"You know what I find interesting about this whole thing?" Mr. Fox asked in a conversational manner. He continued without waiting for a response. "You allow your wife to date other men and then get mad when she sleeps with someone other than you. Are you really so naïve as to think I'm the first to take advantage of her easy nature?"

Quatre glared at Mr. Fox. " _How. Dare. You._ If you think for one _instant_ that I will tolerate such talk about my wife, you're stupider than you look. And I haven't forgotten what your men did to Rashid. You can forget my assistance. You have _no idea_ what kind of enemy you've just made."

Heero wasn't sure if Quatre was acting or if he was about to go Zero on Mr. Fox. Personally, he hoped Quatre was about to go Zero. The slimeball deserved it. Of course, Quatre would have to get to Fox before Heero, and Heero wasn't about to let that happen. He stepped towards Mr. Fox and was intercepted by the two guards. It didn't take him long to dispatch them and they were unconscious on the ground in seconds. Heero was almost insulted at how easy they were to take out.

Mr. Fox had watched with a smirk as his guards approached Heero but the smirk quickly faded. He had underestimated Heero's skills and overestimated his guards' abilities. Clearly, he needed to address their training as soon as possible. He stepped back as Quatre and Heero advanced on him.

"Now, now…I think we've had a little…misunderstanding," Mr. Fox said, trying to buy time so he could get out of the cell and lock the door. "You don't really think I was serious, do you? It was all part of the test, to see how you'd react. Let's be reasonable. If I had really slept with your wife would I have dared to bring you in on this?"

Quatre's eyes narrowed. "That isn't something to joke about. And yes, I do believe you were serious. Relena wouldn't lie to me and her reaction to you is very telling. You're a vile creature and I will not let you live long enough to hurt anyone else."

One more step and he would have been free. While he'd considered that Heero and Quatre were lying about not being in contact with the other Gundam pilots, his mistake was that he hadn't considered that all of his employees might not be loyal to him.

A gunshot rang through the air and Mr. Fox crumpled to the ground. In the hall, Dorothy stood with a smoking gun.

"That'll teach him to kidnap my Goddaughter," she growled. She looked at Quatre. "Have you found Miss Relena yet? She wasn't in any of the cells I passed on my way here."

"She's here, Dorothy," Quatre said, his anger beginning to subside now that Fox was no longer a threat. He still wasn't happy about how Relena had been treated, but being angry wasn't going to help matters at the moment. "We need to get Trina and find Sally and Wufei. Do you know where they're located?"

Dorothy nodded. "Trowa and Duo should be getting them, but we should hurry. Fox has a lot of loyal guards and we don't want to be around when they find out he's dead."

"We'll lock him in this cell along with these two guards," Heero said. "That should buy us some time."

"Let's get moving, then," Dorothy said.

While Heero trussed up the guards and pulled Fox's body further into the room, Quatre tried to coax Relena off the cot. She was having a panic attack.

"It's okay, Relena. He's gone. We're going to get Trina and get out of here. Calm down. It's okay." Quatre looked at Heero. "This isn't working. She's shutting down. We might have to carry her." He didn't add that his arm was bothering him. He would get Relena out of here at any cost, though he had hoped that she would be able to walk out on her own. It would speed up their escape considerably. Secretly he worried that seeing Relena being carried would upset Trina and that would make matters worse.

Heero nodded. "I'll carry her. You and Dorothy can provide cover." He handed Quatre the guns the guards were carrying. "We'll meet the others at the rendezvous point. Then Duo, Trowa, and I will tie up loose ends here while you and Chang escort the girls to a safe house nearby."

Heero picked up Relena, ignoring how she trembled in his arms, and looked at Dorothy. "Lead the way."

Dorothy checked to make sure the coast was clear before signaling to the men to follow her. Quatre secured the cell door before following Dorothy and Heero down the hall and around a corner. They made their way up the stairs that Quatre and Heero had been brought down only hours before.

As they rounded another corner there was an explosion down a side corridor. And then all hell broke loose.


	25. Chapter 25

"This way! Quickly!" Dorothy yelled as she led the way through the building.

Heero followed closely with Relena while Quatre lagged behind just a bit. He wasn't trying to be slow, but he wanted to be far enough back that he could draw any enemy fire away from Relena if it became necessary. A second explosion caused part of the ceiling to collapse and Quatre found himself separated from the others. There was a small opening near the top of the pile of rubble, but Quatre wasn't sure how sturdy the pile was. He didn't want to attempt to climb it only to end up being sucked into it.

"QUATRE!" Heero's voice came through the opening, but it was muffled by the debris.

"I'M OKAY!" Quatre yelled back. "KEEP GOING! GET RELENA TO SAFETY. I'LL FIND ANOTHER WAY OUT!"

"ROGER THAT!"

Quatre made his way through the building quickly but carefully, unsure of what he would find. Fox's men were running around, clearly not trained for such an emergency and didn't pay him any attention, which was fortunate. Unfortunately, Quatre had no idea where he was or where to go in order to get out. He didn't think that following Fox's men would be a good idea because if he was recognized, they might turn on him, explosions or no explosions. He had no idea if some of them men were trained or if they were all inexperienced and he didn't want to find out the hard way.

"Quatre!"

Quatre was relieved to recognize Duo's voice. He ran over to Duo, glad to see that he had Sally and Wufei with him, but worried that Wufei didn't seem to be able to stand on his own. Trowa was nowhere to be found, neither was Trina.

"Where's Trina? Did Trowa go to find her?"

"Trowa's got Trina," Duo told him. "But we got separated. The guards showed up sooner than we wanted 'em to. Why don't you take Wufei and Sally and get outta here and I'll go find Trowa?"

Quatre hesitated. "I'll look for Trowa. If Trina's scared, she might make it harder for him to get away. She knows me so I'm pretty sure she'll be calmer with me."

Duo was about to argue when Sally said, "Let him go, Duo. He's right about Trina." She looked at Quatre. "Go down the hall behind us and take the third hall on the left. That was where we got separated. From there just keep following the exit signs until you find a way out. It's fairly straight-forward. If Trowa isn't along that route, then he made it outside and we'll meet up at the rendezvous point."

Quatre nodded and dashed down the hall, following Sally's instructions. He found the third corridor and the mound of rubble that had separated their group. There was no way Wufei would have been able to climb over it, but Quatre was certain that he could manage it. He was a little nervous about the stability of the pile but he could hear Trina crying on the other side. It worried him because he knew Trowa wouldn't have left her behind.

"Trina! Trina, honey, calm down! I'm coming," Quatre called as he started to climb the mess.

"Cat'ra?" Trina's sweet baby voice reached him. She was scared and he hated it.

"I'm coming sweetie. Just stay there okay?"

"'kay."

Quatre moved as quickly as he dared, ignoring the pain in his arm and his back as he pulled himself to the top of the heap. Once he got to the top he looked down to see Trina huddled in a doorway with Trowa on the ground nearby.

She looked up at him, tears streaming down dirty cheeks. "Cat'ra! I scared!"

"I know, sweetie. You wait right there while I climb down." Quatre tried to sound calmer than he felt. Trowa wasn't moving and Quatre feared the worst but he didn't want to alarm Trina further. He moved as quickly as he dared, silently praying that he wouldn't cause an avalanche and bury Trowa. Once he made it to the ground Trina ran up to him and he scooped her into his arms. "There, see? Everything is going to be just fine," he soothed.

"I want Mommy!"

"I know. And we'll go find her as soon as I see if my friend is okay. Can you wait right over there while I check on him?"

Trina didn't _want_ to let Quatre go, but she did as she was asked. "He's your friend?" she asked, pointing at Trowa.

Quatre nodded. "Yes. He came to help me find you and your mommy. Mommy is with some of my other friends." Quatre knelt down and felt for Trowa's pulse. He was relieved to find it. "Trowa? Can you hear me?" Trowa didn't respond. He was out for the count. Quatre looked at Trina. "What happened to him?"

"He said we would find mommy but then a scary man yelled at us and he ran and there was a big noise and then the roof broke."

"Did any of the pieces hit you?" Quatre asked. He hadn't taken the time to check her for injuries.

"No. A big one hit him." Trina pointed at Trowa again. "And he dropped me," she accused petulantly. "It hurt!"

Quatre had to work not to laugh at her indignation. "I'm sure he didn't mean to hurt you."

Quatre tried again to rouse Trowa but to no avail. "Trina, I have to carry my friend. Can you walk with me and we'll see if we can catch up to mommy?"

"Okay."

It took several attempts but Quatre finally managed to get Trowa draped across his back. Quatre held onto Trowa's arms as they dangled over his shoulders but Trowa was taller than Quatre and his legs dragged behind as Quatre walked. It was the best he could manage given the situation, so he decided to press on and hope that either Trowa would come to or that he would find the others and get some help.

They followed the exit signs as Sally had instructed but Quatre was beginning to wonder how far away the exit really was.

"Cat'ra, I tired," Trina complained.

"I know sweetie." Quatre was tired, too. His back was bothering him. A low groan in his ear alerted him to Trowa regaining consciousness. "Trowa?"

Trowa groaned again. "Ugh, put me down. I'm gonna hurl," he moaned.

Quatre immediately stopped walking. He bent down and, as carefully as he could manage, slipped Trowa off his back and onto the floor. Trowa rolled away from Quatre and emptied the contents of his stomach onto the floor.

"Eeewww!" Trina said, wrinkling her nose at the smell.

"Why don't you go wait over there, Trina?" Quatre suggested, pointing to a spot just down the hall. "We'll give Trowa a minute to feel better." Once Trina was happily out of the direct line of stink, Quatre knelt down next to Trowa. "Trowa? Can you talk to me?"

Trowa was on his side but he rolled onto his back. "Got hit with a piece of plaster. Might have a concussion," he mumbled.

Quatre checked Trowa's pupils. They were different sizes. "I think you're right. If I leave you here to get help will you be okay?"

"Only if you take this." After a little fumbling, Trowa managed to reach into his pocket and pull out a piece of paper. Trowa's shaking hands pushed the paper at Quatre. "This…is…important," Trowa gasped out.

Quatre nodded and took the paper, watching helplessly as Trowa's eyes rolled back into his head and he lost consciousness again.

Quatre checked to make sure Trowa was still breathing before opening the paper and reading it.

Quatre's eyes widened in disbelief. "Oh, Trowa! What have you done?"


	26. Chapter 26

**A/N: Thank you all so much for the love this story is getting. ^-^**

* * *

Quatre shoved the note into his pocket and quickly scooped up Trina. "We're going to go get help for my friend. With any luck, mommy will be waiting for us outside."

"Okay," Trina chirruped happily.

Quatre was glad that she had cheered up so quickly after what she'd been through. He figured it was the promise of being reunited with Relena that gave her a positive attitude.

A green neon sign ahead caused Quatre to pick up his pace. He'd _finally_ found the exit. He inched open the door and looked out to make sure the coast was clear. It was, so he propped the door open with a rock and headed for the rendezvous point, which was northwest of the building in a clump of trees. He was panting by the time he reached the copse. Being injured had made this endeavor harder than he'd counted on.

"Quatre, over here!"

Quatre headed towards Wufei's voice. He caught sight of the Altron pilot sitting on a fallen log with his left leg propped up on the log.

"Good to see you made it out," Duo told him. He was sitting next to Wufei on the log.

"Where's Trowa?" Heero asked with a frown as he walked over. Quatre wondered where Relena was but since Sally and Dorothy weren't in sight, he assumed they were tending to her.

"I…had to…leave him," Quatre panted. "He lost…consciousness…and I…couldn't carry…him…any farther."

Sally came over and took Trina from him. "Sit down. I'll take Trina to Relena."

Trina's face lit up with a smile. "Mommy?"

Sally nodded. "Yes. Mommy's just over here."

Sally took the toddler away and Quatre plopped to the ground, leaning against the log that Wufei was sitting on, unable to keep up the pretense of being okay anymore. "Heero…can you…get Trowa? I left him…down a…corridor…on the…east side. I…propped the…door open…with a rock."

Heero nodded. "We'll get him. Come on, Duo."

Quatre watched them run back to the ruined building for a moment before leaning his head against the log and closing his eyes.

"What's wrong with you?" Wufei asked.

"Huh?" was the only response that came to Quatre's mind.

"You're hurt, aren't you?"

"Oh…yeah," Quatre said stupidly.

"SALLY!"

"What is it, Wufei?" Sally responded in an exasperated tone as she walked over.

"Check him for injuries," Wufei ordered. "I'd do it myself but _this_ ," he indicated his injured knee, "is in the way."

"Okay, okay, calm down before you give yourself a heart attack," Sally muttered. She knelt next to Quatre. "Where are you hurt?"

Quatre didn't respond.

"Quatre! Quatre wake up!" Sally said as sternly as she could manage. She shook his arm a little and Quatre groaned.

"Quatre!" Sally slapped him to try and bring him back into consciousness but it didn't work. So she quickly pulled his shirt off, looking for the cause of his present state. She swore when she saw his arm.

"What is it?" Wufei wanted to know. He couldn't see what she saw from his position on the log and she'd already threatened him with another broken knee if he moved.

"He has an injury on his arm that's infected. This is bad, Wufei. We need to get him to a hospital. I can't fix this here."

Wufei swore and Sally continued to check Quatre for other injuries. She swore again, using a word that Wufei had never heard come out of her mouth before, when she leaned Quatre forward and found the stitches on his back.

Wufei could see Quatre's back from where he was. There was a big purple bruise with lines of red radiating from it. The infection from the wound in his back was spreading. Wufei swore again.

"Quit using that language around my Goddaughter!" Dorothy ordered as she came over to investigate. She saw Quatre's back and covered her mouth with her hand. "Did that happen inside?"

Sally shook her head. "It's a couple of days old. We have to get him to a hospital. This could kill him."

"Where are Heero and Duo?" Dorothy asked.

"They went back for Trowa," Wufei told her. "Unless you two can load Quatre into the van, we'll have to wait for them."

"Help me, Dorothy."

The women managed to half drag, half carry the Sandrock pilot over to the back of the van that Dorothy had taken the liberty of appropriating from Mr. Fox. Relena was inside already with Trina. Relena was sitting on the floor with her knees drawn up and looking blankly at nothing. Trina was cuddled up next to her, sucking her thumb.

"Cat'ra?" Trina looked at him with wide eyes. "Is he hurt?"

"Yes, baby," Dorothy told her. "He's hurt but we're going to take him to the doctor to get better."

"Like Mommy?" Trina stuck her thumb back in her mouth.

"Yes, like Mommy," Sally confirmed as they made Quatre as comfortable as they could manage. "Let's get Wufei over here so we can leave as soon as the others get back."

They were almost to the van with Wufei when Duo and Heero made it back supporting Trowa between them.

"Get him in the van and let's move," Sally said as she and Dorothy maneuvered Wufei into a seat.

"Trina, come sit by me and get buckled in," Wufei said, looking into the back.

"No! Don't wanna." Trina wrapped her arms around Relena's bicep. Relena didn't so much as flinch.

Wufei frowned. "Trina, this isn't optional. You need to be in a seat belt."

"Mommy isn't. An' Cat'ra isn't," Trina told him stubbornly.

"Quatre and Mommy are adults and they wouldn't want you to get hurt bouncing around in the car," Sally told her.

Trina screwed up her face and Duo was certain she was about to throw a tantrum. If Quatre wasn't lying unconscious in the back of the van he was sure that the blonde could have gotten Trina to buckle up without a fuss.

"I have an idea," Duo said. "Why don't we let Trina stay where she is and just get outta here? I've got some charges set to blow soon. And the longer it takes to get out of here, the longer it is until we get to the hospital."

Wufei scowled. "Fine." His leg hurt and he really didn't want to listen to Trina cry the whole way to the hospital anyway.

Sally wanted to argue that Trina needed to be in a seatbelt as well, but given the circumstances, it wasn't worth the fight. "Trina, honey, I need you to stay sitting down back here, understand?"

Trina nodded.

"Good. And you watch Quatre for me and let me know if he wakes up, okay?"

"Okay," Trina chirruped, happy that she was getting her way.

Duo started to lift Trowa into the van. Sally was inside and helped to maneuver the tall man into place.

"What happened to Quatre?" Duo asked quietly.

"He has infected injuries," Heero told Duo as he climbed into the van to pull Trowa the rest of the way in.

"You _knew_?" Sally asked with a glare.

Heero nodded. "I'll explain it on the way. Who's driving?"

"I'll do it," Dorothy volunteered. "The rest of you keep them," she indicated Trowa and Quatre, "alive."

Duo climbed into the front seat next to Dorothy. "I can drive if you want," he offered.

"No thanks," Dorothy answered. "I'd like to get Miss Relena to the hospital in one piece."

Duo rolled his eyes. "You really think I wouldn't get Quatre to a hospital safely? He's one of my best friends."

Dorothy snorted. "Oh, really? Then where have you been the last three years? He really could have used a friend, you know."

Duo shifted uncomfortably. "I know. And I'm not gonna pretend that I was too busy or somethin'. I just…I didn't want to get in the middle of their mess and have to choose a side."

Dorothy rolled her eyes. "Still a coward, huh, Maxwell?"

"At least I don't keep secrets from the people most important to me," he shot back.


	27. Chapter 27

Dorothy glared at him and glanced in the rear view mirror to make sure no one was listening to their conversation. Everyone in the back was focused on whatever Heero was telling Sally. "Listen up, because I will not repeat myself. I will tell my secrets when it is time and not before. If you tell them before I decide it is time, I will _end_ you in the most painful way I can imagine."

"You don't have to worry about that," Duo told her. "I talk a lot but I'm no blabbermouth. They're your secrets but you better come clean soon. Certain parties have a right to know."

Dorothy chose not to answer him. Instead she yelled to the back, "Is everyone still okay back there?"

"We're fine, Dorothy," Sally told her. "No changes."

Dorothy pushed the van to its limit, praying silently that they wouldn't run into any cops in this area of nowhere. She wasn't sure if the cops around here were on Fox's payroll and she didn't want to have to take any chances.

"Uh…not to be a side-seat driver or anything but you missed the hospital turnoff," Duo told her.

"I didn't miss it. We're going to the hospital in Springfield."

"Are you kidding me?"

"No, Duo. I have some friends that work there. It's safer for both Miss Relena and Quatre because I can guarantee their anonymity there."

"Oh, yeah…Quatre's still got that warrant out, doesn't he?" Duo mused. "So are you gonna tell him when we get there or what?"

Duo's question made Dorothy glare at him. "I will tell him when it is time to tell him and not a moment before. And if you don't stop pestering me about it I will make your life miserable."

"Oh yeah? How?" Duo taunted with a grin.

"Trina, honey?"

"Yes, Auntie Dottie?"

"Tell Duo about that movie you like. I don't think he's seen it."

"Okay! First there's two princesses and one can shoot ice out of her hands!"

Duo stifled a groan and feigned interest as Trina went into an animated telling of the story of "Frozen", complete with her very own rendition of "Let it Go," which she started over when she thought that Duo wasn't paying quite enough attention to her story.

They pulled into the hospital parking lot just as Trina finished her story. Duo looked at Dorothy. "I hate you," he told her softly before getting out to help Sally and Heero with the others.

Dorothy smirked. Maybe next time he wouldn't dare to push her. She went ahead to check in with the nurse, who was a friend, and request private rooms for Relena and the others. It didn't take long for everything to be in order and Dorothy led some of the emergency staff out to the van with wheelchairs for Wufei and Relena and gurneys for Quatre and Trowa. Sally filled in the doctors on each patient's medical condition before sending Quatre into the operating room. His injuries were the most life-threatening so he was being seen to first.

While Quatre was in the OR, Dorothy and Sally orchestrated the care of the others. Wufei's knee was x-rayed and put into a soft cast until the swelling went down. Trowa was given a CT scan to make sure there was no swelling in his brain. There was no swelling but the CT scan revealed a broken collar bone. Duo took charge of Trina, teaching her how to play tic-tac-toe on a small white board the nurse had given Trina to draw on.

Heero stayed with Relena's wheelchair the entire time. He asked her if she wanted him to leave when the doctor took her to a private room to ask private questions and she held his hand and wouldn't let go, so he stayed. He was afraid that she wouldn't tell the doctor what Fox had done to her but she did. It made his blood boil to hear her speaking of it, in more detail than she'd gone into with Quatre, and he swore to himself that he would never leave Relena unguarded again. He blamed himself for this whole mess. If he'd just gone with her to the party instead of acting like a spoiled child she wouldn't have been raped in the first place and their relationship wouldn't have ended and she wouldn't have become a target just so Fox could get at Quatre.

The only time Relena let go of Heero's hand was when the doctor asked her to change into a hospital gown. She went behind a curtain to change and as soon as she came back out she grabbed onto Heero's hand again, desperate for a solid lifeline to keep her grounded. Heero offered to leave while the doctor performed a female exam, but Relena had asked him to stay and hold her hand so she would have something to focus on. He winced with how tightly she gripped his fingers as the doctor performed the exam and he hated how tears formed in Relena's eyes, not from physical pain but from the fear and stress of remembering what happened to her.

He hated that he couldn't take that pain away from her.

"Mrs. Peacecraft-Winner?" The doctor derailed Heero's train of thought.

"Y-yes?" Relena whispered.

"I've taken samples of what we need. We'll get the test results for you as soon as possible. Now…there is a chance that a pregnancy could result from this assault. We have a few options available to us to guarantee that it won't happen or you can take your chances and hope that it doesn't. It's up to you."

"What are my options?"

The doctor explained that she could take a pill or have a shot but the result would be the same. Relena opted for the shot, afraid that she wouldn't be able to get the pill down. It wasn't an easy decision for her to make. She had always believed that life began at conception, which is why she hadn't terminated Trina when she realized she was pregnant. But there was no guarantee that she _was_ currently pregnant and on the off chance she was, she wasn't sure she was mentally capable of handling an unwanted pregnancy right now. She knew she was being selfish but she felt like if there was any time to be selfish, this was it. It wouldn't be fair to bring a child into her life the way she was right now. She would confess to a priest later but for now, she was exhausted, hurt, and terrified. There was no way she could even entertain the thought that Fox might have impregnated her and still retain anything that resembled sanity.

Heero stayed with her through the whole thing and then took her to the private room that Dorothy had arranged. It had been decided that Relena would stay at the hospital for a few days to allow her to rest and recover. The doctor had given Relena a sleep aid and told her to rest so Heero put her into bed and tucked the blankets in around her.

"Heero?" Relena looked up at him as he was fluffing her pillow for her.

"Yes, Relena?"

"I…" she faltered. "How's Quatre doing?"

"I'm sure he'll be fine," Heero told her, trying to hide the jealousy that he felt. He knew it was stupid to be jealous that Relena was worried about Quatre. The man was fighting an infection that could kill him. Heero was worried about him, too, after all. "I'll find Sally and find out how he is for you."

"Heero…that's not what I wanted to talk about," Relena said softly, averting her eyes from him. "I wanted to tell you…I don't blame you…for what happened…before. I was…difficult…and immature. I ruined our relationship. I'm so sorry!" She covered her face as she burst into tears.

Heero was quick to wrap her in his arms as she sobbed. "Relena…it's okay," he soothed. "It's okay. Everything is going to be okay now. We can work this out. Please don't blame yourself. I was jealous of your popularity and I was petty about it. It was more my fault than yours."

"N-no i-it w-wasn't!" Relena wailed. "I-I p-pushed y-you a-a-w-way!"

Heero was pretty positive that all the stress of the last few days had finally come to a head and Relena simply needed to let it all out. But he hated to see her cry and he hated that she was blaming herself for his selfishness.

"You didn't push me hard enough to keep me away," he murmured softly into her ear. "Will you take me back?"

For some reason that made her cry harder. Heero was at a loss. What had he done now?

"I-I d-don't d-des-serve y-you!"

Heero didn't bother to say anything else. Everything he said just made it worse. Instead he held her and let her cry. When her tears finally slowed and she was leaning limply against him, Heero gently kissed the top of her head.

"Do you feel better now?" he asked gently.

She nodded. After a moment she said, "I wanted so much for you to hold me like this in the dungeon—to hold me and tell me everything would be fine. But I didn't know if they were watching and I didn't want them to hurt Trina. I also wasn't sure that you would ever take me back but I could see the hurt in your eyes when I threw myself at Quatre. I'm so, so sorry. I didn't want to hurt you."

Heero tightened his grip on her. "You have nothing to be sorry about. You had to keep Trina safe. I would have done the same thing in your position."

"No…you wouldn't have been taken in the first place." A soft sob escaped her. "I always need to be rescued…don't I? Will I ever be strong enough to keep Trina safe?"

"You are the strongest woman I know, Relena," Heero whispered into her hair. "I will keep you both safe…if you let me."

"Please don't ever leave me again," Relena begged softly as she wrapped her arms around him and held him tightly.

"Never," Heero promised. After a few minutes of silence he said, "You should rest. Trina will be worried about you if you don't."

"I know. But…I don't know if I can. Even with the medicine I feel like I'll never sleep again."

"At least try to sleep. I promise I will be here when you wake up."

"Okay," she whispered. "I'll try…for you."

Relena didn't move to leave the safety of his arms. After a few minutes, her breathing slowed and steadied. Heero looked down and she was fast asleep.

* * *

Quatre opened his eyes. His whole body hurt.

"Hey, Quat! Nice to see you didn't die on us," Duo said cheerfully.

Quatre slowly turned his head towards the voice. "Duo?" he croaked out.

"Yup."

"I need to...talk to...Heero."

"Sally said you need to rest. You can talk to him later." Duo didn't like that Quatre was so pale. He had absolutely no color in his cheeks or lips and his eyes were dull. According to Sally the operation had revealed a deeper infection than they'd thought and Quatre wasn't going to be out of the woods for several days at least. That was why Duo was keeping an eye on him. Wufei had offered, but Sally had vetoed the idea because he needed to keep his knee stationary.

"No. Please, Duo? I promise...to rest...after." Quatre was still exhausted but he wanted to get this over with.

Duo frowned and then sighed. Quatre was even more stubborn than Relena and Duo knew he wouldn't rest until he got his way. "I'll go get him."

* * *

Heero held Relena as she slept, not wanting to let her go. He knew he ought to lay her down so she would be more comfortable but he wanted to be selfish for a little while longer. He hadn't realized how much he missed having her in his arms. A soft knock on the door caused him to narrow his eyes, but he still didn't get up to answer it. The knock came again, slightly harder this time.

"Who is it?" he demanded.

The door inched open. Duo popped his head in. "Hey, Heero…Quatre's awake and wants to talk to you. Can you come?"

Heero frowned and looked down at Relena. "I promised I'd be here when she woke up."

"Yeah…well, Quatre doesn't sound good and he won't rest until he talks to you. She's sleeping so she should be fine for a couple of minutes, right? I'm sure it won't take long."

Heero could tell that Duo was worried about Quatre's condition and he also knew that Relena would never forgive him if something happened to Quatre because he refused to see him for a few minutes.

Heero looked down at Relena. She was in a deep sleep thanks to the sleep aid. She hadn't even stirred when Duo knocked on the door. Besides, Quatre's room was just across the hall. It wasn't like he couldn't dash back over as soon as they were done.

"Fine." Heero carefully adjusted Relena so she was lying comfortably on the bed and followed Duo across the hall.

* * *

Quatre waited patiently for the other two pilots to return. He wasn't sure how Heero would react to his information but he hoped that Duo would be able to handle the Wing pilot if it became necessary. He really hoped Heero was in a tolerant mood otherwise things might get out of hand in a hurry.

"What do you need, Quatre?" Heero asked him.

"Where's Trowa?"

Heero rolled his eyes. "Resting, as _you_ should be. You could have just asked Duo that, you know. I need to be there when Relena wakes up. I promised her I would be." He turned to leave.

"Wait, Heero! Where are my pants?"

Duo raised an eyebrow. "Why do you need 'em? You're not goin' anywhere."

Heero frowned. He was tempted to have one of the doctors check Quatre. The man was clearly delusional.

"My pocket...there's a note...from Trowa...in my pocket. You need to read it, Heero."

Heero frowned but he went over to a cupboard and pulled out a bag with Quatre's clothes inside. He found Quatre's pants and dug around in the pockets, pulling out the crumpled piece of paper.

Heero's head snapped up after reading through the note a second time. He hadn't believed what he'd read the first time. Now there was murder in his eyes. "I'm gonna kill him."


	28. Chapter 28

"NO!" Quatre yelled. He tried to sit up. "I-Ah!" Quatre gasped in pain as the stitches on his back and arm pulled, threatening to tear the skin. He plopped back onto the bed. "Don't, Heero," Quatre begged. "Please just...listen to me."

"Quatre! You need to relax," Duo scolded him. "I knew I shouldn't've gotten Heero," he muttered under his breath. Duo looked at Heero, who was clearly trying to decide whether to stay and listen to Quatre or go and shoot Trowa in the face.

"What's it say, anyway?" Duo asked, reaching for the note.

Heero grunted and read it aloud, knowing that Duo wouldn't back off until he knew what the note said.

 _"If you are reading this I am probably dead. I am sorry. I know that this will not make up for the things I have done but I need to confess my misdeeds. I am the father of Relena's baby. The night of the party, Relena and I talked for a while then we parted ways. I don't remember much of what happened after that. I only had one drink, but it must have been stronger than I anticipated because my memory of that night is sporadic at best. Unfortunately, I very clearly remember waking up next to Relena in an unfamiliar bed. We were both undressed and Relena was very deeply asleep. I tried to wake her but I was unsuccessful. Fearing that someone would come upon us in bed together and report it to the press, I quickly dressed and left. I am truly sorry for what I did. I am not sure I was in full control of my senses at the time, but that is still no excuse. Quatre, I am sorry for the way I treated you. You did the best thing that any of us could do for Relena and I ask only that you continue to protect and care for Relena and the child. Tell Heero that I know that an apology cannot undo what has been done. I am ashamed that I was unable to man up enough to take responsibility for what happened while I was alive. It is not fair for me to ask for his forgiveness, but I do ask that he harbor no ill will towards Relena. She was not at fault. I should have been more careful and done better to keep her safe in his absence. I wish we could have parted on better terms and that, too, is my fault. If I could ask just one last thing from you it would be that the rest of you remain close. Good friendships are not easy to find and I am sorry for destroying ours. Learn from my mistakes. –Trowa"_

"I can't believe him!" Duo growled. "He sat there and accused Quatre of sleeping with Relena and made those few days at your house miserable when all along HE'S the one that raped her! Lemme punch him in the face before ya shoot him, 'Ro!"

"Duo...please!" Quatre took a shallow breath, willing the pain in his back to subside, and then said, "I don't think he's…Trina's father."

"Why not?" Heero demanded to know.

"I just...don't. Remember when...Relena told us…that Fox said…he'd raped her before?"

Heero grunted. "That's not good enough. Fox might have been lying about that."

"I know," Quatre conceded. "But how else...would he know...about it? Dorothy was at...that party, too. You need to...talk to her…and see if she...remembers anything."

"Since Trina and Trowa are both here, maybe you should order a paternity test, just to be sure," Duo suggested. "His note says he doesn't remember the details of the night and Relena doesn't remember anything about it so...there is a chance that Trowa really is Trina's dad."

"Heero...I didn't show you that…to upset you," Quatre said softly. "I'm actually very worried…that Trowa will do…something stupid…because of what he…thinks he did. I want us to sit down…together and talk this out…once Trowa and I are...up to it. Wufei, Dorothy, and…ugh," Quatre cringed at a stab of pain from his back, "..Sally should probably…be there, too…as support and mediators."

"What about Relena?" Heero demanded. "You're going to leave her out of this?"

"At first...yes. But just until we know for sure…if Trowa is Trina's father. If he is...well...we'll figure that out…when we get there, but I don't see…a point in upsetting Relena…until we know for sure. If it _was_ Trowa...she'll feel very betrayed…and in her current state...it would be bad."

Heero nodded. Relena was a strong woman but after this business with Fox, she was having a difficult time coping.

"You have to promise me…not to do anything…to Trowa until we get…this sorted out," Quatre said, glaring at Heero. "I know that it will be difficult…but if I'm right and Trowa isn't…Trina's father then you'll regret it. If he is Trina's father...then you have every right…to go after him, though Relena might…have something to say…about it. Is that fair?"

Heero grunted but gave Quatre a small nod. Deep down, he hoped that Quatre was right. He really didn't want to have to kill Trowa.

"How is…Relena, Heero?" Quatre asked quietly, changing the subject.

"She's...not well," Heero admitted. "I should get back to her. I'll order a paternity test and then we'll figure out what to do about this." He held up the note. "Until then, I think it would be best for me not to talk to Trowa. I'll probably end up punching him."

Quatre nodded. "You should go. I need to rest." Quatre's eyes slid shut as he let his head sink into the pillow. He was a little concerned that a conversation had left him so completely exhausted, but he was too tired to think about it. Darkness enveloped him and he very quickly fell asleep.

Duo chewed on his lip as he watched Quatre fall asleep almost instantly. "That can't be a good sign," he muttered.

"He'll be fine," Heero said. "He's a lot stronger than anyone gives him credit for."

Considering that Quatre had carried Trowa by himself and it had taken both Heero and Duo to get the taller man out of the building, Duo couldn't deny that he had also underestimated the blonde. Quatre just gave off an air of childlike innocence that made him _seem_ younger and weaker than the rest of them.

"Yeah…I guess you're right," Duo grudgingly admitted. "He still looks like crap, though."

It was true. Normally fair-skinned, Quatre's skin was even paler and his complexion was dull. He had dark circles under his eyes and his lips were pale and chapped. His hair was a mess and could use a good wash, but that would be taken care of by a nurse later, after Quatre wasn't in such critical condition anymore. The machines he was hooked up to in order to track his heart rate and oxygen levels only added to the picture of Quatre's poor health.

Heero nodded. "Relena won't be happy about his condition but it can't be helped. I should get back to her."

"Yeah. Do you want me to hold onto that note so she doesn't accidentally find it?" Duo asked.

"That might be a good idea," Heero said as he held out the note. "Can you tell Sally to make sure that Trowa doesn't leave his room? I don't want him slipping away before we get this mess taken care of."

Duo nodded. "Yeah. I'll take care of it. Get back to the Princess before she wakes up and finds you gone. She'll ask questions that we don't wanna answer right now."

Heero slipped quickly and quietly across the hall as Duo picked up the phone in Quatre's room to call the nurse's station and talk to Sally. Seeing that Relena was still asleep, Heero ducked into the bathroom in her room and splashed water on his face. This whole mess was his fault and he had to fix it. He just wasn't sure how.

"Heero? HEERO!?"

Relena's voice was frantic as she called his name. Heero burst out of the bathroom.

"H-Heero?" Relena's voice was small and her lower lip quivered.

"What's wrong?" Heero asked as he approached her.

"Y-you l-left m-me." Relena burst into tears again. "I w-woke up and…and y-you were g-gone!" she wailed.

Heero reached out to her but she pulled away. "I'm sorry," he said softly. "I just went into the bathroom. You were sleeping so deeply I thought I could be back before you woke up. I was wrong."

Relena knew she was being childish but Heero had _promised_. Didn't he know how important promises were?

"I h-heard the d-door open…b-before I woke up enough to realize you were gone." Relena's breath hitched as she tried to stop crying.

"Duo wanted to check on you and let you know that Quatre's resting and the doctor said he should be just fine."

Relena sniffled. "I'm sorry, H-Heero. I shouldn't have gotten upset. I was just…scared when you weren't here."

Heero reached for her again and this time she didn't pull away. "You can get upset if you want," he told her quietly. "I said I would be here and I wasn't. That wasn't fair to you. Can you forgive me?"

Relena snuggled into his embrace. "Yes. I forgive you," she whispered.

Heero held her in silence for a few minutes. Their moment of peace was disrupted by several pairs of shoes noisily running down the hall. Voices spoke urgently to each other and the noise seemed to congregate outside Relena's door.

Heero frowned. "Stay here," he told Relena as he let her go. "I'm going to see what's going on."

Heero slipped outside and found Duo sitting on the floor with his legs drawn up and his head in his hands. There were doctors and nurses crowding Quatre's room and they were in a bit of a frenzy.

Heero knelt down and put a hand on Duo's shoulder to get his attention. "What happened?"

Duo looked up at him, tears threatening to fall. "Quatre's heart stopped."


	29. Chapter 29

**A/N: I'm so sorry for the delay on my stories. Life has been insanely busy and in the middle of it my Grandma passed away. It wasn't unexpected, she's been sick for a long time, but my muse decided to skip town for a bit and just got back in. This chapter is nice and long to make up for the wait.**

* * *

Heero's gut ran cold. "But…he was fine a minute ago."

Duo shook his head. "I don't think he was, Heero. He was struggling and he insisted on talking to you even though he knew he needed to rest. Do you think he knew he was about to…?" Duo couldn't bring himself to say the word.

Heero shook his head. "No. I think if he knew he would have said something." Heero leaned over enough to look into the room. He couldn't see Quatre because there were doctors and nurses surrounding the bed.

"CLEAR!" one of the doctors yelled and then there was the sound of a defibrillator being used.

"Come on, Quatre," Heero muttered through gritted teeth. With everything they'd been through a stupid infection shouldn't have been the thing that killed the Sandrock pilot.

"CLEAR!" Again, the defibrillator was used.

A third time.

Heero looked down at the ground and shook his head. He had just told Relena that Quatre was fine. How was he ever going to tell her otherwise?

"CLEAR!" The defibrillator went off again and this time it was followed by a steady beep. "WE HAVE A PULSE!"

Duo and Heero sprang to their feet and looked in through the door. The doctors and nurses were making sure that Quatre was stable and taking blood samples. Many of them left to see to other patients. When there was only one doctor and one nurse in the room, the two former pilots deemed it clear enough to venture inside.

"Any ideas what happened, Doc?" Duo asked.

"We won't know for sure until we get the blood tests back, but if I had to hazard a guess, I'd say that the infection reached his heart and caused it to shut down. It's called endocarditis and it generally only affects those with abnormal areas in their hearts. If it _is_ endocarditis, we'll need to run some tests to find out what other heart issues he has. I'm sure once we identify the problem we can find a solution to keep this from happening again. For now, we've pumped him full of as many antibiotics as we dare give him. He's very lucky that you were able to start compressions _and_ alert the staff even before the machines could Mr. Maxwell."

"Well, actually, it was dumb luck," Duo admitted as he rubbed the back of his neck, embarrassed by the praise. "I was askin' Sally if he should'a been so exhausted after a short conversation when he flat-lined. She's the one that rallied the troops. So I did what I would've done if we hadn't been in a hospital. I'm just glad he's gonna be okay."

"Not to put a damper on your hope, but he's still in a bad way," the doctor said. "I'm going to order a nurse to check on him every half hour until we know for sure that he's doing well enough not to die on us."

"Thanks, Doc." Once the doctor was gone, Duo slumped into a chair and dropped his head into his hands again. "Geez, Quat…don't scare me like that," he muttered.

"Duo, do you need a break? I'm sure Sally or Dorothy can sit with him if you do."

Duo looked up at Heero. "Naw. I'm fine. Besides, Sally's keepin' an eye on Trowa and Dorothy's watchin' Trina. They're needed where they're at."

"Well…if Relena wants to see Trina for a while I can arrange for Dorothy to relieve you."

"Yeah…and who gives Dorothy a break? It's not worth it and I'm fine, Heero."

Heero frowned but knew that arguing was pointless. Duo wasn't about to admit that he needed time away from Quatre's hospital room. He always claimed that he never lied but he had a way of stretching the truth when it suited him.

"Fine. I'm going to tell Relena what happened. She deserves to know, even if it upsets her. I want you to let me know immediately if you need a break for any reason. There are enough of us out of commission; you don't need to add yourself to the list."

"Yeah, okay, Heero. But like I said, I'm fine. Do you want me to let Wufei know what happened? Sally's keepin' tabs on Trowa and I don't know if Wufei was in the room when I was talkin' to her."

"Yeah, you can tell him. I'll probably have my hands full with Relena." Heero put his hands on his hips. "She is _not_ going to take this well."

Duo's response was cut off by something bumping into the door followed by a curse.

Duo fought a smirk as he opened the door. "Hey, Wufei. Does Sally let you kiss her with that mouth?"

"Shove it, Maxwell," Wufei ground out through gritted teeth as he massaged his injured leg. "How's Quatre?"

Heero moved into the hall to push Wufei's wheelchair into the room. "He's stable, for the moment."

"That's good to hear. Do they know what caused his heart to stop?"

"Not for sure," Duo told him. "The doctor has a theory but until the tests come back, we won't know."

Wufei nodded. "With any luck it was something easily fixed. But knowing _our_ luck…"

"I know," Duo agreed.

"I need to get back to Relena," Heero broke in. "Wufei, do you want me to wheel you back to your room before I go so you don't hit your leg again?"

"No," Wufei said disdainfully. "I can manage just fine, thank you. Besides, I was going to suggest that Duo get something to eat and I'll sit with Quatre for a while."

"Aw, really? Thanks, 'Fei!" Duo gushed.

Wufei rolled his eyes. "Just go. And don't call me 'Fei'."

Heero rolled his eyes as well. He knew Duo needed a break. But he didn't say anything. He just went back over to Relena's room.

She was sitting up in bed staring at her hands in her lap but she looked up at him as he came through the door.

"What took so long?" she asked softly.

Heero wondered if she would ever feel safe alone again and the thought made him angry and sad. Relena was supposed to be the strong one. _She_ was the one that made him stronger. He wasn't sure he was strong enough to do the same for her. But he wanted to try.

He sat on the bed and pulled her into his arms. "Quatre...had a setback. His heart stopped but the doctors have him stable again."

Relena gasped. "But…but…you said!"

"I know what I said. And when I told you that he was fine, I truly thought he was. The doctors are running some tests and will check him every half hour to make sure it doesn't happen again. I really think he'll pull through, though. He's stronger than he looks."

Relena blinked back tears. "I know…but if something happens to him…it would be my fault."

"No it isn't. Fox's men went after him on L4, that's where he got shot and those are the injuries that are infected. That happened a few days before they ever took you."

"It's my fault he was on L4 instead of here," Relena whispered. "We had a fight and I said such terrible things to him."

Heero frowned. "Quatre's a big boy, Relena. He goes where he wants and I'm pretty sure even you can't make him do things he doesn't want to do."

"But if I hadn't…" Relena blinked back more tears. "If I hadn't yelled at him and said such awful things to him he wouldn't have been up there. He would have stayed here on Earth with me and Trina and then…"

"Then Fox would have taken all of you at once and used you right then to make Quatre cooperate. And there would have been no way for him to contact us to help you. You need to stop blaming yourself and rest. I'm sure Trina will want to see you but the doctors won't let her in if you're not recovering."

Relena sniffled and cuddled into Heero's embrace. "You're right. I'm sorry," she murmured softly.

Heero held her until she fell asleep again, going over Trowa's note in his mind. Was there any way to do a paternity test without Trowa or Relena finding out? He wondered if Dorothy could pull a few more favors for them. He didn't want Relena any more upset than she already was. He also needed to talk to Trowa and the others without Relena finding out what they were discussing.

Maybe he could use Quatre's current situation to his advantage. He could tell her that he needed to tell the others what was going on and leave her for a while on her own. Maybe he could do it while Trina was visiting Relena.

A light knock on the door preceded Duo sticking his head inside. "Hey, Heero…can I talk to you for a minute?"

Heero carefully laid Relena down and walked over to the door. He wasn't going to leave the room again, not after Relena's reaction the last time.

"What is it?"

Duo glanced at Relena before speaking quietly. "Quatre's blood tests came back. It's endocarditis. They want to do an endocardiogram to see if they can figure out what's wrong with his heart."

Heero nodded. "Has he woken up yet?"

Duo shook his head. "No but the machines say he's doing okay. The doctor said that once they can identify what's wrong with his heart they can most likely fix it and Quatre'll be good as new."

"Relena will be relieved to hear that," Heero said.

"Yeah. Well they said that the endocardiogram will take half an hour or so. I talked to Sally and Trowa's awake. He's already restless so I thought maybe we ought to talk to him now. I know Quatre wanted to be there, but…"

Heero nodded. "I understand. Maybe it would be better to talk to him now and get him to agree to a paternity test, if only to prove whether or not Quatre is right. If Trowa knows for sure that he didn't do anything, it will be easier to get him to stick around until Quatre can talk to him."

"And if he _did_ do what he thinks he did?"

Heero frowned. "Then we'll tie him down and let Relena beat him to death with a hammer."

Duo smirked. "Yeah…like she'd ever do that. But she would have a right to know and to do whatever she wanted to him and I'll be more than happy to help hold him down so she can."

"A large part of me hopes that Quatre is right in his assessment and Trowa _isn't_ the father. I honestly don't know how I'll handle it if he's…" Heero looked over his shoulder at Relena. She looked like she was still asleep but he wasn't entirely certain that she was. Heero looked back at Duo. "Look, why don't you get Wufei into Trowa's room and I'll call Dorothy. We can let Trina visit Relena while we have our little talk and with any luck we'll get this sorted out before Quatre has a chance to worry about it."

Duo nodded. "D'you think Trina will be okay if you leave her alone with Relena? I mean, she wasn't really responsive in the van and I don't think Quatre'll thank us for setting Trina up to need therapy."

"I'm sure she'll be fine. We'll just tell her that Relena's on some medicine that might make it hard for her to wake up and she shouldn't pester her."

"Okay…that might work. So…should we meet in Trowa's room then?"

Heero nodded. "Dorothy and I will join you as soon as we get Trina settled here."

Duo left and Heero closed the door with a sigh. He wasn't sure how he was going to explain this to Relena in such a way that she wouldn't ask too many awkward questions.

"Heero? What's wrong?"

Heero forced his face into a mask of indifference before turning around. She had an uncanny knack of knowing when he was most troubled and he suspected it was something she was able to read in his eyes. He wondered if it was that sixth sense that had woken her.

"That was Duo. He said Trowa is awake and thought we ought to tell him about Quatre. We're not sure how he'll react so Duo wanted us to do it together. Is it okay with you if I go?"

Relena thought about it for a moment before giving him a small nod.

"I also thought that I might call Dorothy and have her bring Trina up for you to keep you company while I'm gone. I'm sure she's worried about you and Dorothy could probably use a short break from babysitting."

Relena frowned. "I don't know if I want Trina to see me like this."

Heero sighed and sat next to Relena on the bed. "She was right next to you in the van on the way over here. You were completely unresponsive. We told her you were sick and we were going to get you some medicine that would make you better so she wouldn't freak out. We told her the same about Quatre since he was unconscious. If she sees that you're better then she won't be so upset about Quatre if she sees him."

Heero knew he was being manipulative but it was the most credible lie he was able to come up with at the moment.

"I guess…it's okay," Relena said softly. "But I won't be able to chase her around or anything. Maybe she can bring up a coloring book and color quietly?"

Heero nodded. "That's a good idea. I'll call Dorothy."

Dorothy was a little hesitant to bring Trina up to Relena's room. "Is Miss Relena really up to seeing her already? I would hate to cause her any distress."

"She says she'll be fine as long as Trina has something to keep her busy, like a coloring book."

"Well…okay then. We'll see you in a few minutes."

Heero hung up the phone and turned to Relena. "You're absolutely certain that you're okay with this?"

Relena bit her lip and then nodded.

Heero sat next to her and pulled her into his arms. "Everything is going to be okay. I promise."

It didn't take long for Dorothy to arrive with Trina. Trina happily bounced up onto Relena's bed and threw her arms around her mother's neck.

"Mommy! I missed you so much! Are you feeling better?"

Relena kissed Trina's cheek. "Yes baby, I'm feeling better. Are you doing okay?"

Trina nodded. "Yup. Auntie Dottie got me a new coloring book! Can you color with me?"

"Trina, remember what we talked about," Dorothy said, a warning tone in her voice. "Your mommy is still sick and you need to calm down and let her rest."

Trina gave a dramatic sigh. "Okay. I'll remember."

Heero felt the corner of his mouth twitch as he fought the urge to laugh at the toddler's antics.

"I can probably color for a little bit," Relena told Trina. "But if I get too tired I'll have to stop, okay?"

Trina nodded. "Okay, Mommy!"

Once Relena and Trina were settled in, Heero and Dorothy slipped down the hall to Trowa's room. Heero was happy to see that Sally, Wufei and Duo were already there. Trowa was in bed, scowling.

"What's the deal, Heero?" Trowa demanded. "Sally said I was forbidden to get out of bed on _your_ orders."

Heero quirked an eyebrow. "We want to talk to you."

"How does your wanting to talk to me mean that I can't use the bathroom instead of a catheter? Do you have any idea how uncomfortable those damn things are?"

"The catheter was a direct result of you showing up unconscious," Sally pointed out. "The fact that they haven't removed it yet has nothing to do with Heero's orders that you not be allowed to leave the room."

"Enough." Heero gestured to Duo for the note, which he handed over. "We need to talk about this, Trowa."

Trowa looked away. "There's nothing to talk about. It's all there."

"What's that?" Wufei asked.

Heero handed him the note and Wufei read it with Sally reading over his shoulder.

Sally glared at Trowa when she finished the note. "Please tell me this is a sick joke."

Trowa slowly shook his head, his expression grim. "I wish it was," he muttered.

Dorothy took the note from Wufei and read it. She frowned and looked at Trowa. "You really don't remember what happened that night?" Dorothy asked.

Trowa shook his head. He could see the pain in Dorothy's eyes but he didn't know why she would be hurt by his failure to remember.

Dorothy took a deep breath. "Well, I do." She looked at the group. "The night of the party, someone spilled a healthy amount of alcohol on Trowa. Since it was early, I offered to wash his clothes for him so he wouldn't have to go home and change. I took him upstairs to one of the guest rooms because a former guest had left clothes up there and he was going to borrow them while his clothes were cleaned. When we got up there…I…" Dorothy faltered. She was a little embarrassed to go into the story, but her friends deserved to know the truth. "When we got up there and we were alone," she said slowly, "we started making out. It was just…one of those things that kind of takes you off guard. I'm sure the alcohol we'd been drinking didn't help matters. Anyway, things…progressed and we…well, that's really none of your business. So Trowa fell asleep and I decided to go ahead and have his laundry done while he slept. After his clothes were clean I took them back up to the bedroom and he was still out so I left them for him. I figured it was better for him to stay the night than it was to wake him up and let him go home in the state he was in."

Trowa was more than a little surprised at what Dorothy had admitted that they'd done that night. He didn't remember any of it. Looking at his friends he could see that the only person _not_ surprised at Dorothy's story was Duo. He'd have to remember to ask how he knew about it.

"On my way back downstairs, Chancellor Williams approached me," Dorothy continued. "He had Relena in his arms and he told me that she'd had too much to drink and had passed out while they were talking. I told him to take Relena up to the other guest room and I would see that she made it home safely." Dorothy's eyes widened and her hand flew to her mouth. "I know who Trina's father is! Oh, why didn't I see it before?! How could I have been so _stupid_ as to let him take her up there alone?!"

Heero frowned. "What are you talking about?"

"Don't you _get_ it?" Dorothy practically yelled. "Williams must have raped Relena then made up a story about how she'd fainted and put her in bed with Trowa to make it look like they'd done something they hadn't! I was so distracted by Trowa leaving without a word that I didn't find it unusual that the second guest room hadn't been used."

"That doesn't actually prove that Trowa isn't Trina's father," Wufei pointed out. "It only explains how they ended up in bed together. And unless Williams undressed Relena before he put her in bed with Trowa, I have to think that they did what Trowa thinks they did."

Dorothy scowled at him. "I _know_ Trowa isn't Trina's father."

"How can you prove that?" Trowa asked.

"Because…" Dorothy took a deep breath. "Because she doesn't share any DNA with your son."


	30. Chapter 30

**A/N: I'll be in San Diego this week at Nerd HQ so I don't know how much writing I'll get done, so here's a chapter to tide you over.**

* * *

Stunned silence filled the room.

"My what?"

"Son, Trowa," Dorothy repeated softly. "We…have a son."

Trowa stared at her in disbelief.

"I'm sorry," Dorothy whispered. "This wasn't how I meant to tell you."

Trowa's expression hardened. "Were you planning to tell me at all? It's been _three years_! Do you have _any_ idea how guilty I've felt about that night because I thought I'd raped one of my best friends?"

"Trowa, I'm sorry."

"Get out."

Dorothy looked like she'd just been slapped. "Trowa—"

"LEAVE! _Now_."

Dorothy bit her lip and ran out the door as tears started spilling down her cheeks.

Duo glared at Trowa and said, "Nice job asshat," before following Dorothy out the door.

Trowa looked at Heero, Wufei and Sally. "Did you know about this?" he demanded.

Heero and Wufei shook their heads, but Sally looked guilty.

"Sally? You knew?" Trowa asked, his tone angry.

"I knew Dorothy had a son. I didn't know he was yours," Sally told him. "She never told me who the father was."

"How would she know that Trina and her son don't have the same DNA?" Wufei asked Sally.

"I have no idea," Sally told him. "I wasn't involved in her pregnancy in any way."

"So how did you know about him?" Trowa asked.

"Dorothy called me one night because he was sick and she couldn't get ahold of her regular pediatrician," Sally said with a shrug. "And before you ask, no, I've never seen him. I have no idea what he's like and I think you should be talking to Dorothy about all of this, _not_ me."

Sally crossed her arms and gave Trowa a look that dared him to argue with her.

Trowa gave an exasperated grunt and looked at Heero. "What now?"

Heero took a deep breath and blew it out. "Honestly, I'd still like to have the paternity test done. As much as I want to take Dorothy's word for it so I don't have to shoot you in the face, I want to be absolutely certain you're _not_ Trina's father. If Relena ever finds out what's in this note she'll be devastated so we need to debunk it and destroy it. Got it?"

Trowa nodded. "I agree."

"And you're all sworn to secrecy about this note," Heero added. "Relena's going through enough right now. Once the paternity test comes back negative I think we'll need to follow up Dorothy's hunch on Williams. It won't be easy to get paternity confirmation but I'm sure we can convince him to cooperate."

"And what will proving who Trina's father is accomplish?" Sally asked. "It isn't like you can undo what's been done to Relena."

"No, we can't," Heero agreed. "But we can hold him accountable for his actions and prevent him from raping anyone else."

"What if he tries to take Trina away from Relena?" Wufei asked quietly. "He's in a position of power at the moment. He could use that to his advantage and Relena could still come out on the bad side of it."

"Only if he knows about Trina before we get our hands on him," Trowa pointed out. "And I bet Quatre has some resources we can tap into to make Williams behave."

"Yeah, well…I wouldn't count on Quatre's resources too much right now," Heero said.

Trowa rolled his eyes. "Has he run back to his mansion already?"

Heero set his jaw and gave Trowa a stern look. "He's having an endocardiogram. His heart stopped earlier and he tested positive for endocarditis. He'll likely have to have heart surgery so you might want to quit being a dick for a while…if you can manage it."

Trowa shut his eyes and nodded.

"Why _are_ you being so mean to Quatre?" Wufei asked. "I thought you two were friends."

"We were," Trowa said softly. "Look…I'm getting a headache. Can we talk about this later?"

"Fine. But I need you to swear you won't run out on us. We'll need your help getting Williams," Heero said.

"Okay," Trowa agreed softly. "Can I rest now?"

Once he was alone Trowa covered his face in his hands and groaned. What had he done? He remembered sporadic images of that night. He'd talked to Relena at one point. He remembered kissing soft lips and running his hands through silky blonde hair. But now that he focused on it, the hair in his memory wasn't honey colored like Relena's. It was pale…platinum…and long like Dorothy's.

Trowa swore under his breath as he tried to sort out his thoughts. He wasn't sure he could handle being a father all of a sudden like this. After yelling at Dorothy like that he wouldn't be surprised if she never let him see his son. He was an ass. Dorothy and his son definitely deserved better than that.

* * *

Duo followed Dorothy down the hall towards the elevators. She saw him coming after she stepped inside and pushed the buttons, trying to get the elevator to move before he could get there. Duo made it as the doors were closing and slipped inside.

"Leave me alone," Dorothy said, folding her arms and turning away.

"Dorothy…he didn't mean it. He was just…shocked, I think," Duo told her.

Dorothy shook her head. "This is exactly why I _didn't_ want to tell him. I knew he'd be furious with me. I should have told him when I first found out I was pregnant."

"As I recall, you tried to," Duo said with a frown. "You couldn't find him so you asked _me_ if I knew where he was."

Dorothy sighed. "And you told me where to find him. But I just…I couldn't do it, Duo. I don't know why I couldn't."

"Well…you told him now and he's just gonna have to learn to deal. I'm sure he'll do right by you and send you child support now that he knows."

Dorothy whirled around. "I don't want his stupid money. I want…it doesn't matter what I want. I can't ever have it."

Duo wasn't sure what to say. Dorothy was upset but everything he said made it worse. "Look…why don't we go down to the cafeteria, get a coffee or something and bring it back up and have another talk with Trowa? I'm sure he'll have cooled down by then."

Dorothy shrugged but didn't say anything else.

Duo sighed. They were silent as the elevator went down to the cafeteria. Duo was certain that Dorothy would wait for him to exit and then close the elevator doors and keep running but she didn't. She led the way out and Duo followed her, picking up a few snacks and drinks to take upstairs.

Once they were back in the elevator, Dorothy pushed a button.

"Uh…that's the wrong floor," Duo told her.

"No, it's not."

Duo raised an eyebrow but didn't want to antagonize her further so he held the tray of food in silence. As they stepped off the elevator, Dorothy turned to him.

"Stay here. This will only take me a minute."

Duo watched as she walked down the hall and turned a corner. Just as he was certain she was never coming back, Dorothy appeared with a little boy on her hip.

He looked like a miniature Trowa.

Well, a miniature Trowa that was sucking his thumb.

"Okay, Duo. Now we can go up."


	31. Chapter 31

**A/N: Found some time to write. Shorter chapter but...bigger bomb, I think.**

* * *

Duo followed Dorothy into the elevator and up to Trowa's room without saying a word. He wanted to see the look on Trowa's face when he saw his "Mini-Me". The kid was silently sucking his thumb as he appraised Duo with a calculating look that was exactly like what Trowa would do. It kind of creeped Duo out.

"Duo, would you do me a favor?"

Duo turned his attention from the boy to Dorothy. "Sure. What do you need?"

"I want…I was wondering if you could…ask Trowa if it's okay that…that I talk to him. And…and ask him if he wants to see…" Dorothy gestured with her head to the child, "before we go in. I know he's mad at me and he has every right to be but…we _need_ to talk. We can't talk if he's too busy yelling at me to listen."

"Yeah. Do you want me to stay in the room in case he starts to get out of control? He's got a pretty nasty temper, you know. It runs away with him more than he'll admit."

Dorothy shook her head. "If he's cooled down enough to listen to me then it should be fine. But I would like you to stay for a few minutes. I need to talk to Trowa alone. After he's had a chance to see him," Dorothy again indicated the child with her head, "could you grab Trina from Relena and take the kids back to the day care? I'm sure she needs to rest and they'll be fine playing there while we figure things out."

Duo nodded. He wanted Dorothy and Trowa to work this out but he knew Trowa's temper. Trowa _seemed_ like a calm guy. He _seemed_ like the strong, silent type…and to an extent, he was. But Duo had seen Trowa do things during the wars that sent chills down his spine. If he was being honest, Trowa scared the shit out of him and that was saying something.

They got to Trowa's room and Duo ducked inside with the tray.

"Hey, Trowa? You sleepin'?"

Trowa glared at Duo. "Not anymore."

Duo set the tray down. "Look, man, we gotta talk."

"Not now, Duo."

"Yes, _now,_ Trowa. Dorothy's outside. She says she needs to talk to you but I don't want to leave her in here if you're just gonna bite her head off."

"What does she need to tell me now? Did she take out a mortgage in my name? Maybe we adopted a couple dozen kids from China."

Duo glared at Trowa. "I'm gonna tell her you can't handle this like a big kid yet."

" _I_ can't handle it? _She_ kept it a secret for _three years!_ I have _every_ right to be pissed about this!"

"I never said you couldn't be pissed about it," Duo told him. "But being sarcastic and making her cry doesn't exactly make you the mature party in this. If you're not going to give her a chance to explain herself and make it right then she's wasting her time and yours. She's been through a lot the last three years, too, ya know. I can't imagine how hard it musta been for her to go through all that alone. I mean, bein' pregnant and havin' a baby without anyone to help you? That doesn't sound easy to me."

Trowa grunted. He knew that having a child wasn't easy. He knew that being a single mother was even harder. There were a couple of performers at the circus who were single mothers. They had it rough, especially when the kids were too little to leave alone when they had to go to work. And they had the rest of the circus to help them. As far as Trowa knew, Dorothy hadn't had anybody.

"She's got your kid out there and for some insane reason she wants you to see him right now. But if you do _anything_ to hurt her or the kid, I'm gonna have to stop you. And I don't want to have to do that," Duo said.

"I'm not going to hurt them, Duo," Trowa said, rolling his eyes.

"If you start yelling at her they'll leave," Duo warned him. "Dorothy knows you're mad. She wants to talk about this but if you're not ready to discuss it like adults she's not going to stay here and force you to."

"I get it, Duo," Trowa said, starting to get annoyed. "Get her in here so we can get this over with."

Duo frowned but opened the door. "I think he's ready, Dorothy."

Dorothy walked in slowly, starting to second-guess herself. Trowa stared at the little boy on her hip.

Dorothy looked at the little boy. "TJ, this is mommy's friend Trowa. Trowa…this is TJ."

TJ sucked his thumb and stared at Trowa. It took him a moment but he softly said, "Hi" around his thumb.

Trowa said, "Hi" back and then the room was silent again.

Duo looked back and forth between Dorothy and Trowa. It was obvious that neither wanted to be the first to speak so he said, "I think I'm gonna go get Trina from Relena and give her a chance to rest. D'you want me to take TJ downstairs, too?"

"Yes, Duo," Dorothy said. "Thank you. Go with Duo to get Trina and then show him where the playroom is, okay Sweetie?"

TJ nodded and reached the hand he wasn't sucking out to Duo. Duo grinned and took the kid from Dorothy. "I'll be back to check on you two in a few minutes," Duo said with a meaningful look at Trowa.

He left them and the silence was palpable and awkward.

"So…what does TJ stand for?" Trowa finally asked.

"Trowa Jameson," Dorothy told him softly. "I…I wasn't sure if you'd be okay with naming him after you so I shortened it and if you want me to change it I can. He's young enough that we could probably change his whole name and he won't remember when he gets older."

Trowa shook his head. "Whatever you wanna call him is fine. Why didn't you tell me about him? It could have saved so much trouble."

Dorothy's lip quivered and tears began to drip down her cheeks again. "I'm _so_ , SO sorry! I had no idea that you thought you'd raped Relena! I was afraid that you would get mad at me for getting pregnant and deciding to keep the baby instead of aborting."

"You thought I'd want you to get an abortion?"

Trowa's tone and expression displayed so much horror that Dorothy couldn't look him in the eye. "I know…it was stupid of me. I should have come to you. I even asked Duo how to find you. But when I saw you…" Dorothy took a shuddering breath. "When I finally tracked you down you were talking to Relena and…you looked so happy I just…couldn't tell you. I didn't want to dump my problems on you. And I convinced myself that you would never want me."

Trowa remembered talking to Relena right before she and Quatre announced that they had eloped. He _had_ been happy to see her. He hadn't seen her since the party and she was excited about passing a bill to provide free healthy school lunches for all kids no matter their parents' financial status. It was one of the many school reforms she had been pushing at the time. The campaign had been so stressful for her that he had been happy that something was finally moving in the right direction. He frowned. "Why would you think that I would never want you just because I was talking to her?"

Dorothy made a noise that was somewhere between a laugh and a sob. "You really _don't_ remember that night do you?" she muttered more to herself than to Trowa. She took a few deep breaths and said, "After we…were done…we cuddled together and I told you I loved you. And you said you loved me, too. Except…instead of saying 'I love you, Dorothy,' you said, 'I love you…Relena.'"


	32. Chapter 32

**A/N: Sorry about the delays. My muse is being difficult at the moment. If the guest who asked about the sequel to Sandrock's Rhapsody is reading this, yes, I'm still working on that one, too. :)**

* * *

Trowa felt sick. No wonder she thought he would never want her. He didn't even remember any of that. What _had_ he been drinking that night? It was a beer. A single beer had never affected him like that before. Because of the way he'd been raised it usually took half a dozen before he even felt a buzz anymore.

Trowa was suddenly aware of how quiet the room was. Dorothy was biting her lip, trying not to cry again. That was weird, too. Dorothy had never been one to cry before. Was it an act or had something happened during her pregnancy to change her? Trowa knew that hormones would affect pregnant women but he wasn't sure how permanent the changes were.

"I don't know what to say," Trowa told Dorothy softly. "I don't remember much of anything that night."

Dorothy nodded. "It wouldn't be fair for me to demand for you to be with me. I just…I'm not really sure what I want. But I know it wasn't fair for me to keep your son from you. I'm sorry."

Trowa shook his head. "I don't blame you. I can't imagine what you went through. I just wish I'd been able to help you. We could have figured this out before instead of dealing with it now, with everything else going on and all."

Dorothy sighed. "I know. I'm sorry for dumping all this on you while you're recovering but…you know, it might be a good thing. You can think over what you want to do while you're here and we can discuss it later."

Trowa frowned. "What do you mean, what _I_ want to do?"

"Well…if you want to be part of TJ's life then that's fine. If you don't…well…I won't say I won't be sad about it but I was the one that didn't insist on protection and I was the one that chose to keep the baby so…if you want out, I'll understand."

"Dorothy, don't you _dare_ try to take all the blame for you getting pregnant," Trowa growled. "Even if I wasn't in complete control of myself that night I am still partly responsible. I'll take responsibility for myself. I can be part of TJ's life if you want or I can stay away and just send money. What would be best for the two of you?"

Dorothy fidgeted, suddenly uncomfortable. "I don't want to tell you what to do," she said. "And I don't want to make you feel obligated to take care of us."

Trowa closed his eyes. "But I _want_ to," he said softly.

Dorothy stared at Trowa, unsure she'd understood what he'd said. "You can't mean that."

Trowa looked up at her. "Who are you to tell me what I mean and what I don't?"

"But…but you love Relena. I can't make you—"

"You're right," Trowa interrupted. "You can't _make_ me do anything. I _want_ to, Dorothy. The truth is…I haven't _truly_ loved Relena for a long time. I've loved her as a _friend_ since just after the Mariemaia incident. If I'm being completely honest with myself I've actually harbored feelings for _you_ for a very long time."

Dorothy frowned and gave him a skeptical look. "Then _why_ did you say you loved Relena that night?"

Trowa sighed. Clearly he was going to have to come up with an acceptable answer. The problem was, he didn't have one. "I don't know, Dorothy. I don't even know why I was so out of it that night. I only had _one_ beer." Trowa was frustrated that he couldn't figure out what had happened to him that night. It didn't make any sense. "And now that I think about it, I didn't even finish it."

Dorothy frowned deeper as she thought back to that night as well. Trowa had seemed in a good mood when he'd arrived. He'd greeted Relena but hadn't spent a long time talking to her. In fact, now that Dorothy thought about it, she had talked to Trowa a number of times that night. He'd been practically underfoot, asking if she needed help with anything as she set out food and refilled drinks. She'd been so busy and distracted by the party that she hadn't paid attention to it.

"Dorothy?"

Dorothy looked at Trowa.

"I mean it. I've had feelings for you for a long time. I just…never got up the courage to say anything."

Dorothy didn't get a chance to respond because there was a sharp knock on the door and Duo stepped in looking grim.

"Hey, guys, sorry to interrupt. But I thought you ought to know that they found a hole in Quatre's heart. They're taking him into surgery."


	33. Chapter 33

**A/N: I am so sorry this took so long. Since the last time I posted I went to Comic Con in Salt Lake. There was only one artist with GW artwork and she only had pictures of Trowa, Heero, and Duo, so I go those-yay-but I'm really hoping that she does Quatre and Wufei in the future so I can add those to my little collection. The artist is False Delusion on DeviantArt if you want to look them up. I don't know if she's added Trowa to her DA page yet. Aside from that, things have been absolutely crazy around here! Here's to hoping that life slows down enough for me to work on my stories a bit more.**

* * *

Waiting for Quatre to come out of surgery felt like an eternity to Duo. He spent the time wandering around the hospital. Trina and TJ were safely in the playroom. Heero was keeping an eye on Relena. Dorothy and Trowa were still discussing their situation. Sally had disappeared into Wufei's room so Duo was basically left to himself. He went down to the cafeteria and bought himself something to eat, but he mostly just picked at it. You wouldn't know it from how they'd been acting lately, but Quatre was the heart and soul of their group.

Duo was worried about what would happen if Quatre died. Well, if he died again and _didn't_ wake up.

Duo glanced at the clock again and nearly swore when he realized it had been all of thirty seconds since he'd last looked. This was getting ridiculous. He decided that he would walk five times around the outside of the building before coming in to check on Quatre's status again.

* * *

"Do you think he'll be okay?" Relena's lip quivered as she asked the question.

Heero sat next to her on the bed and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "I think he'll pull through. He wouldn't want you to worry. He would want you to rest and recover so you can go home to Trina."

"What about what you want?" Relena asked softly.

Heero closed his eyes for a moment while he thought. "I want to go home with you. I want to give our relationship another chance and this time I don't want to screw it up by being stupid."

* * *

Wufei crossed his arms as Sally checked the dressing on his leg again. "It's fine. Leave it be."

Sally couldn't quite stop the smirk that crossed her lips. "If you don't behave yourself I'll tell them to keep you here longer."

"Well I guess since you don't actually work here you don't have that authority," Wufei told her triumphantly. "I'm going home at the first available opportunity."

Sally frowned at that. "Are you sure, Wufei?"

"What do you mean? Of course I'm sure. Why wouldn't I be?"

"Well…it's just…I guess I thought that you would want to wait for the others and make amends. It's weird for me to see you all together but not as friends. It makes me kind of sad, to be honest. You guys went through so much together and whether you want to admit it or not, I think you missed the comradery."

Wufei snorted. "What makes you think that?"

"For one thing, you stayed with Quatre to give Duo a break."

"I was returning a favor. Duo came to rescue us and I consider myself in his debt."

"Oh, Wufei," Sally said as she rolled her eyes. "Don't give me that 'debt' nonsense. You guys have a special bond. That's why none of you have left yet, even though Quatre's really the only one that needs to stay here. You won't leave a man behind."

Wufei sighed softly and looked away. Sally was right but he didn't feel like admitting it. "I think I should rest."

* * *

Trowa took a deep breath and let it out. "Okay…so are you sure you want me to move in with you and TJ? I'm not exactly the easiest person to live with."

Dorothy nodded. "You'll have your own room and if it isn't working out then we'll know and we can go back to not being together." Dorothy chewed on her lip. "Am I being really selfish?"

Trowa frowned. "How are you being selfish?"

"Well…I…" Dorothy's cheeks flushed. "I've had a crush on you for a long time. I wanted to tell you but I couldn't. Now the only reason you're giving me a chance is because we had a drunken night together and I got pregnant. I'm not sure if this is the best solution for TJ and it isn't really fair to ask you to give up your life to take care of us. I feel like you're getting the short end of the stick in this."

"Please don't make me repeat myself, Dorothy. I _want_ to try to make this work. I feel bad that you two have been on your own for so long already. I want that to be the end of this discussion, okay?"

Dorothy nodded. "So…um…how do you think Quatre's doing?"

Trowa shook his head. "I don't know. To be honest, I'm a little more concerned about how Duo's handling the situation."

"Why is that?"

"Duo and Quatre got really close during the wars. Closer than Quatre and I ever got. They talked a lot about personal things. Quatre was the one that fronted the money for Duo's education and Duo has never forgotten that. You probably won't believe me but Duo always wanted to go to school so he could make something of himself. I think it had to do with a promise he made to Sister Helen and Quatre made that happen for him. Duo's always been a bit more expressive than the rest of us but I can still tell when he's putting on a show. If Quatre doesn't get better, we might lose Duo, too."

* * *

Duo looked at his watch again as he walked back into the building. He was certain that Quatre wasn't out of surgery yet, but he couldn't think of anything else to do, so he headed back up to Quatre's room to wait.

Heero was waiting for him.

"We need to discuss our next course of action."

Duo blinked at Heero, confused. "What do you mean?"

"Chancellor Williams. If Dorothy is right about him and he _is_ Trina's father, we need to dispose of him."

"Heero…we can't 'dispose' of the chancellor. He's too high profile. Besides, we should wait until the others are—"

"No, Duo. We can't wait. Wufei and Trowa both have broken bones. That's six weeks at least. How long do you think it's going to take for Quatre to get back up to speed, even _if_ the doctor clears him for field work? I want Williams taken care of _now_."

"But you told Trowa we'd need his help," Duo pointed out.

"I told him that to keep him from running off. I think you and I can handle this on our own."

Duo sighed. "Yeah, okay. So we need to figure out how to get the guy to have a paternity test and then go from there. Any ideas _besides_ kidnapping him and beating him to a pulp?"

"Actually, yes."

Duo was surprised at confident Heero sounded. "Okay," Duo said slowly. "What is it?"

"We're going to have Sally send him a notice stating that he needs a blood test because he was exposed to a dangerous virus and she needs to verify that he didn't catch it. When he comes in to have it done, he'll be detained and once we know for sure, we'll go from there."

"How can we guarantee he'll come here?"

"Sally's note will explain that this facility has the proper equipment and will therefore be able to provide the fastest results, which," Heero hurried to continue as he saw the question forming on Duo's lips, "are desirable as the virus he's been exposed to is highly contagious and once the symptoms set in the victim has less than a week to live. If Sally can verify whether or not he was exposed to the virus then an antibiotic must be administered immediately before the symptoms show up, otherwise it is useless."

Duo nodded. "That sounds like it'll work. But on the off chance it doesn't, what's plan B?"

Heero shrugged. "Kidnap him and beat him to a pulp."

"Heero!"

"Duo, relax. I was trying to lighten the mood."

"Oh."

"If he doesn't come here then you and I will have to track him down and get what we need. I want him taken care of before Relena is released so she has access to counselling when she finds out who fathered Trina."

Duo nodded. "Okay, Heero. Let's do this."


	34. Chapter 34

**A/N: Sorry it took so long to update. I was trying to finish it during Nanowrimo and didn't get as far as I'd hoped.**

* * *

Chancellor Williams was attending a meeting nearby and agreed to come in for the test, provided that it didn't take longer than his lunch hour. Sally administered the test and then Heero and Duo entered the room to "keep him company" until the test results came back.

Williams recognized Heero from his time as Relena's bodyguard.

"How is the former Prime Minister these days?" Williams asked as he shook Heero's hand.

"You haven't heard?" Heero asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Heard what?"

"She was kidnapped a few days ago. The Preventers are still looking for her."

Duo didn't think that Williams looked nearly concerned enough.

"Oh, that's right. I did hear something about that on the news. I'll bet she wishes she had you back as her security detail, huh?" Williams lightly elbowed Heero in a familiar way. "You would've gotten her back by now I bet."

Heero nodded. "I most certainly would have made it a priority." He glanced at Duo and Duo gave him a small nod. Heero continued, "Chancellor, I'm afraid that my reason for being here is not entirely pleasure."

Williams snorted. "You think I didn't piece that together? It isn't like hospitals are the best places for a social gathering. What are you really after?"

"We've been asked to look into a rumor about you."

"By who?"

"Colonel Une," Duo supplied. He didn't care that it was a blatant lie. Once Une found out what had really happened with Relena, he was sure she _would_ want to know.

"Well then it must be serious," Williams said. "What's the rumor?"

"There's not a nice way to ask this question so I'm just going to be blunt," Heero warned.

Williams nodded. "Go on."

"Did you ever rape anyone?"

"Well that _is_ blunt."

Duo and Heero both waited for the Chancellor to answer the question but he didn't seem to be about to.

"Well?" Duo asked after a few minutes of silence. "Did you or didn't you?"

"That depends on your definition of rape."

"Did you or did you not have sex with someone without their consent?" Heero clarified.

"Define consent."

Heero scowled. "Did they say 'yes, I'll have sex with you'?"

Williams shrugged. "You know, there have been a number of times that I go to parties and other social functions and I just can't remember everything that goes on, especially after a few drinks."

Duo and Heero looked at each other. It was clear they weren't going to get a straight confession from him.

"Ya know what I think?" Duo asked. He didn't wait for an answer before telling Heero. "I think he's guilty."

"Now hang on a minute! I never confessed," Williams said indignantly. "You can't prove anything."

"Actually we already have the proof," Heero said. "We were just hoping that you would cooperate to get your sentence reduced."

Williams attempted to bolt for the door but Duo intercepted him and pushed him back towards Heero.

"No you don't," he growled.

Heero grabbed the Chancellor and held him in a half nelson.

Sally came in just then and took in the scene.

"Well?" Heero asked. "What are the results?"

"Congratulations, it's a girl," Sally said, though there was no joy in her tone.

Heero nodded. "Would you please alert Colonel Une to the situation?"

Sally nodded and left the three men alone.

"Well, Chancellor," Duo said smoothly. "It looks like _you_ raped Relena Peacecraft at a party and then tried to frame some poor sap for it. Now I have to wonder why someone as high up as you would resort to somethin' like that."

Williams bit his lip. He wasn't about to start talking.

"You might want to tell us," Duo warned. "The guy holding onto you can snap your neck in half a second if he chooses and ya see, Relena was his girlfriend when you raped her. He's not overly happy about it."

" _Was_ his girlfriend?" Williams bit out nastily. "She's got you whipped, boy, if you're still willing to fight her battles for her even if you're not together anymore."

"We're not together," Heero ground out, "because _you_ made her feel so worthless that she left me! She's been hiding behind a friend of hers because she didn't think I'd want her after what you did. Give me one good reason not to kill you and make it look like an accident."

"Because that's too good for the likes of him," Duo answered for Williams. "Don't do it, Heero. You know that Relena would want a piece of this guy. And if you kill him, she can't have it."

"Can I paralyze him?" Heero asked with a wicked grin that Williams couldn't see.

Duo shook his head.

"Just a little bit?" Heero begged. "I'm sure Relena will let me have _that_ much fun."

Duo couldn't help the smirk on his own face. He'd missed this kind of banter with Heero. He knew that Heero was just trying to scare Williams and it was working.

"No!" Williams begged. "Please! I'll tell you what you want to know! I admit it! I slipped a little Spanish Fly into Relena's drink and took advantage of her. There was a guy sleeping upstairs so I made it look like they'd been in bed together."

"Okay, okay," Duo said. "But that doesn't tell us _why_ you did it."

"Because I wanted Relena out of the way."

"But _why?_ " Heero demanded.

"She was the only person in the way of me becoming Chancellor. The people wanted her, not me, so I had to come up with a way to get rid of her. She was too high profile to kill so I wanted to ruin her reputation. Turned out I didn't have to because she ran away with Winner and got married. She quit because she was pregnant."

"She quit because she was pregnant with _your_ daughter," Heero told him. "She never married Winner. They only said she did so that her reputation wouldn't be tarnished by what you did to her."

"If I have a daughter then I have a right to see her," Williams said, completely unfazed by what Heero had just told him. "Where is she?"

"Someplace you'll never find her," Duo vowed. "You're goin' to jail for a long time, my friend. You're not going to see Relena or her child unless she wants you to."

"I have rights as the father!"

"Relena had rights as a woman and you didn't give a shit about those," Heero growled back. "You're going to jail. I'll break you into pieces and take you there myself if you don't cooperate."

"You'll never get anyone to believe you," Williams scoffed. "You may as well let me go and I'll consider not having my secret service arrest _you_ for attempted kidnapping."

A knock on the door interrupted their conversation. Sally stuck her head in and smiled sweetly.

"Sorry to interrupt your fun, gentlemen, but the Colonel sent some friends to keep the Chancellor company."

Heero smiled and said, "By all means, show them in."

Three burly Preventer Agents came through the door. One shot a grin at Heero.

"Well, if it ain't the Perfect Soldier himself! How've ya been, Yuy?"

Heero grinned back. "I've been having an interesting day, Yates. How's the wife?"

"She's great. Had twins a few months ago. Johnny's turning five next month. Isn't that wild?"

"That's great to hear. Tell him happy birthday for me."

Williams, who was still in Heero's half-nelson, whined, "Get him off of me! I didn't do anything!"

Yates gave Heero a small nod, who let the Chancellor go.

"ARREST THOSE MEN!" Williams ordered, pointing at Heero and Duo. "They attempted to kidnap me and then blackmail me!"

Yates rolled his eyes and took Williams by the wrist. Slapping a pair of handcuffs on him, he said, "You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to a lawyer. The courts will appoint one to you if you cannot afford one."

Williams spluttered as the Preventers hauled him out.

"That went well, I guess," Duo said once he and Heero were alone in the room.

Heero nodded. "I think I owe Une a bouquet of flowers for being willing to deal with him for us."

"So how do you know that Yates guy?" Duo asked.

"He was one of the recruits I trained before I left the Preventers," Heero said with a shrug. "He's a good guy."

"I'm gonna go see if Quatre's out of surgery yet," Duo said softly. "Are you gonna tell Relena about Williams?"

Heero shrugged. "I think I'll ask her if she wants to know who Trina's father is. If she does then I will. Otherwise, I'll leave it alone. She can choose for herself."

Duo nodded. "Sounds like a plan."

They made their way upstairs and split outside of Quatre's rooms.

Duo was relieved to find that Quatre had been returned to the room and the nurse was there checking his vitals.

"How is he?"

"Mr. Winner will be just fine," the nurse told him. "The surgeon said everything went well and he'll be in shortly to answer any questions you may have."

"Thank you," Duo told her as he sat down. He supposed that he really didn't have anything to do now but wait for something to happen.

* * *

Across the hall Heero entered Relena's room.

"Heero! You're back!" she said happily. She sounded tired but she wasn't upset that he'd been gone so long, which he was grateful for.

He nodded. "You're looking much better. How are you feeling?"

"I'm…okay," she admitted. "Where did you go? You said you had to talk to Duo but I didn't think it would take so long."

"I'm sorry about that. Duo and I had a tip on who Trina's father might be so we went to find out for sure."

Relena's expression darkened. "Did you find out?"

Heero nodded again. "Do you want to know?"

Relena didn't answer right away. "Not right now," she said quietly. "I don't think I can handle it on top of everything else."

"I understand," Heero told her gently. He kissed her forehead. "You can rest now. He's been arrested and Colonel Une will see to it that he is properly charged. He can't hurt you anymore."

Relena closed her eyes. "Thank you, Heero," she whispered.

Heero smiled at her and then laid next to her on the bed, letting her cuddle up to him. At least some good had come of this whole horrible mess. He had her back and he was going to keep her this time. As she slept, he ran the numbers in his head of what kind of home he would need to purchase and how much it would cost to get Trina outfitted for school when the time came. He could pick up a few more clients and easily handle the cost of everything. He allowed himself to truly relax for the first time in a long time.

* * *

Duo looked up as the doctor came through the door.

"Ah, Mister…"

"Maxwell," Duo supplied.

"Mr. Maxwell," the doctor repeated. "I take it you've got some questions about your friend's condition?"

Duo nodded. "Is he going to be okay?"

"Yes. The surgery went well and I expect that he'll make a full recovery. However, he needs to reduce his workload. Stress is not good for him. It isn't good for anyone but it's going to be worse for him now that we know he has a pre-existing heart condition. He'll need to be on medication for it for the rest of his life."

Duo nodded. He had expected as much. "But will he be able to do the same stuff he used to do? Like going camping and skiing and that kinda thing?"

The doctor nodded. "He should be able to do those activities. He will have to be careful with the more physically exerting activities, however. He will also be on a stricter diet and we will set up an exercise program for him to follow. If he can keep himself healthy that will be a big step towards his recovery. From what I've seen of him on the news he hasn't been taking good care of himself." The doctor frowned at Quatre. "So young and he doesn't even know that he's killing himself with hard work and wild parties."

Duo cleared his throat. "Uh… so when do you think he'll be able to go home?"

"After he wakes up I'll want to keep him here under observation for 48 hours and then, provided he is doing well, he can go home to finish convalescing."

"Thanks, Doc."

"Is there anything else you'd like to know?" the doctor asked.

Duo shook his head. "Nothin' I can think of right now."

The doctor nodded. "I'll be back to check on him later."

Duo was left to himself in the hospital room, listening to the machines beeping and the sound of Quatre breathing.

He thought about everything that had happened recently. The kidnappings and the rescue. Finding out how Trowa had been holding onto the guilt of raping Relena and then how he hadn't really done it. Dorothy having a kid. _Trowa_ having a kid. That was weird to think about. Watching Wufei and Sally tiptoe around each other because they didn't want to admit their true feelings. Even his own interactions with the others had been more strained than they used to be. They were supposed to be friends but it was like they were just barely acquaintances anymore. He missed the camaraderie.

"Man, Quat. Everything's so screwed up between us all right now. How're we ever gonna fix it?" Duo muttered.

Some situations seemed to be fixed on the surface but Duo knew they were band aid fixes. They were going to have to get to the root of the problems if they wanted to truly fix their friendships. Duo only hoped the others would be willing to fix the problems. Otherwise, once they left the hospital they'd all be on their own again. Duo wasn't sure he could handle it. Sure, he could go back to the scrapyard with Hilde but he wasn't sure that was what he wanted to be doing anymore. It had been a good job to have right after the wars but scrap metal floating in space had been cleaned up pretty thoroughly. Business was starting to slow down and Duo didn't want to be the reason that Hilde had to declare bankruptcy. She was paying him to go to work every day but there were some days that he didn't really do much to earn his paycheck.

He mulled over his options in the darkening room with only the beeping of the machines to mark the passing of time. He began to wonder how long it would be until Quatre woke up. A soft knock on the door pulled him back to reality.

He opened it to find Wufei sitting in his wheelchair looking grim.

"Maxwell, can I speak with you in private?"


	35. Chapter 35

**A/N: Oy...sorry about the delay on this. The holidays were nuts and my muse has been refusing to do any writing.**

* * *

Quatre woke up a few hours later. His chest felt heavier than usual but at least he felt better than he had for a while. He really must have needed to sleep. He tried to sit up but was stopped by Duo.

"The doctor said you need to take it easy," Duo told him gently. "You're not going to be up to speed for a while so you might as well accept it now."

"I'm thirsty," Quatre said quietly, his voice rasping with how dry his throat was. "Can you please get me something?"

Duo nodded. "You stay put. I'll see what you can have."

He left and Quatre laid his head back onto the pillow and looked up at the ceiling. He remembered talking to Heero about Trowa and feeling tired but nothing after that. At least, nothing that was real. He'd had a very vivid dream that was interesting.

Duo came back with a nurse who checked Quatre before helping him to adjust the bed.

"It's good to see you, Mr. Winner," she told him cheerily. "You are to rest. I'll bring you some food in a few hours but until then you can have ice chips. We want to make sure all of the stitches are holding before we let you move around or eat too much."

"Stitches?" Quatre asked. "The ones in my back? Did they pop again?"

The nurse shook her head. "No, Mr. Winner. Those stitches are fine." She gently touched his chest. "These stitches are new. You had to have emergency heart surgery. The doctor will explain it in more detail when he comes to see you and until then you are to relax. Don't get worked up over it, it's nothing to worry about. Everything went well and you should recover quickly as long as you don't stress yourself out, okay?"

Quatre nodded, stunned. "Th-thank you," he stammered. "I'm sorry about all the trouble."

The nurse smiled at him. "Don't be. This is what we do here."

The nurse left and Duo held the cup of ice chips out to Quatre.

"What happened, Duo?" Quatre asked as he took the cup.

"After you told Heero about Trowa you fell asleep and, well, your heart just…stopped. The doctor said you had endocarditis and they would have to do surgery to fix it."

"Oh." Quatre wasn't sure what else to say.

"Just don't do it again," Duo said with a grim smile. "We almost lost you, man."

Quatre took a deep breath and let it out. "More than you know," he said softly. "I…while I was out of it I had a dream. About my father. We talked about a lot of things and he offered to let me go with him. I almost went with him but at the last minute, Rashid came to me and told me that I had to come back." There was silence in the room for a moment. "Do you think…if I would have gone with my father…that I would have really died?"

Duo shrugged. "It's possible. I've heard that sometimes our dead family members will greet us and guide us to the afterlife. Maybe that's what he was doing."

Quatre was quiet for a moment. "Maybe. I'm not sure coming back was the right thing, though."

Duo frowned. "Why not?"

"Because I'm tired, Duo. I'm not living, I'm getting by. Just because I look put together on the outside it doesn't mean that I'm not broken on the inside."

Duo nodded. "I get that, Quat. I really do. I feel the same way sometimes."

"What do you do about it?"

"Well, first I try to figure out what, exactly, is my problem. If I'm tired, it's probably because I'm not sleeping well. If I'm not sleeping it's probably because I'm stressing out about something. If I can figure out what the root problem is and fix it, things get better. It's not always easy, but it's usually worth the trouble."

"I don't know if I can do that, Duo," Quatre admitted. "Things are so messed up right now that I don't know if I'll be able to fix them. Relena needs help, I've got to get rid of Paul as my body double and that won't be easy without Rashid. I've got a lot of Paul's messes to clean up and my sisters have been on my case about some of the business aspects of things back home. I just…don't know where to start. It's too overwhelming."

"Okay, okay," Duo said, rubbing his chin. He really needed a shave, but it would wait. "So how about this: you rest for now. When the doctor clears you we'll sit down and make a list and go from there. It'll help you get things in perspective and make it easier to tackle. But until then, do what the nurse said and relax. You can't do anything from here anyway."

Quatre sighed. "You're right, Duo. Thank you."

Duo smiled. "No problem."

"How is Miss Relena doing?"

Duo was a little surprised at Quatre's slip into the way he used to refer to Relena. "She's…doing okay last I checked. I can go find out how she is now if you want. She's just across the hall."

"That would be nice, Duo. Would you please let her know that I'm fine so she won't worry?"

"Yeah. I can do that," Duo said. "She'll probably ask about you anyway."

"Thank you."

Duo slipped across the hall and knocked on Relena's door. He wasn't surprised when Heero opened it. What _did_ surprise him was when Heero stepped into the hall and closed the door behind him.

"What's wrong?"

Duo blinked in surprise. "Huh?"

"Did something happen to Quatre?"

"No, well, he woke up but he's fine."

Heero let out a breath. "That's good. Would you let Relena know?"

Duo wanted to roll his eyes. "That's what I was coming over for. Quatre wanted her to know that he was okay."

Heero let them both into Relena's room. She was sitting on the bed with her knees pulled up. The television was on but she wasn't watching it. She was staring at the door, a concerned expression on her face."

"Heero?" she asked softly. "What is it?"

"Duo has some good news," Heero told her gently before gesturing for Duo to speak.

"Quatre woke up. He says he feels like he's going to be okay. The doctor and the nurse both said that the surgery went well and as long as he doesn't overstress himself he should be able to go home in a couple of days."

Relena burst into tears. "Oh, I'm so glad he's going to be okay!"

Heero went over to her and wrapped her in his arms. "Shhh… Relena, it's okay," he murmured softly. "I told you that you didn't have to worry. Will you be able to relax now so that you can go home as well?"

He was speaking so softly that Duo almost couldn't hear him.

Relena nodded. "Yes, Heero. I want to be able to go home when Quatre does. I don't want to be the only one here."

Duo knew that both Trowa and Wufei had been given clearance to go home but were being allowed to stay as long as Quatre and Relena were also in residence. That had been something that Dorothy had managed to get the staff to agree to. Duo didn't know which of the hospital staff were her friends, but he was grateful that they had her with them or things wouldn't have gone so smoothly. Of course, the easiness of how things had gone made him a little uneasy. He didn't trust when things went too well.

"I'll be happy when we're all out of here," Duo said. "Hospitals kind of stress me out. I think it's how white everything is and the smell of disinfectant." He wrinkled his nose. "I don't know about you guys but I'd really like a pizza with everything on it and they won't deliver here."

Relena laughed. "Oh, Duo, you always seem to know just what to say to make things better. Thank you."

Duo grinned sheepishly. He didn't always know what to say, he just hated awkward silences.

"Just doin' my job, Princess," he told her. "I'd better get back to Quatre and make sure he isn't trying to do anything he's not supposed to."

Duo left them and went back to Quatre's room. Quatre was behaving himself, sitting quietly and eating his ice chips.

"How is Miss Relena?"

"I think she's doing better," Duo told him honestly. "She was really worried about you and when I told her you were fine she started crying because she was so relieved."

Quatre nodded. "I'm sorry that I worried everyone so much. When do you think we'll be able to speak to Trowa about his note? I really don't think he's Trina's father."

Duo cleared his throat. "Yeah. Um. About that."

Quatre frowned. "What is it Duo?"

"We…Heero and I, that is, we already confronted Trowa. We know that you wanted to talk to him but we were afraid he'd run before we got a chance to if we waited for you to get better. Sorry."

"What did he have to say?" Quatre asked. He wasn't angry that his friends had gone on without him. He could understand Duo's reasoning for doing what he'd done. But he really wanted to know the outcome of the discussion.

"He thought he'd done it. But Dorothy was there that night and she said that he hadn't been with Relena because he was with her."

Quatre blinked in surprise. "Really? Dorothy and Trowa?"

Duo nodded. "She's got his kid to prove it."

Quatre's jaw dropped. "Trowa has a child with Dorothy?"

"Yup. A little boy that looks _just_ like Trowa. I think they did a paternity test just to make sure since we were doing one on Trina and Trowa anyway just to prove to him that he hadn't really raped Relena. It took that blood test to convince him that he _wasn't_ Trina's father."

"How are Dorothy and Trowa handling this?"

Duo shrugged. "I dunno. I haven't seen 'em in a while. I could go check if you want."

"Maybe later," Quatre said with a yawn. "I think I'd like to nap for a while. If the doctor comes in to check on me you can wake me up if you need to."

Duo nodded. "Okay. You get some rest."

Duo watched his friend fall asleep and then looked out the window. Wufei had given him a lot to think about and he had a few decisions to make before Quatre woke up again.


	36. Chapter 36

Quatre slept for several hours. The doctor and a nurse came in to check on him and each reassured Duo that the blonde was recovering well but Duo didn't fully relax until Quatre woke up again.

"Hey, Quatre. How are you feeling now?"

"Better, surprisingly. I've been sick for so long that I think I just thought it was normal. I feel so much better now that I can really feel a difference." Quatre adjusted the bed so he was sitting up.

"Good. Listen…I got some stuff to talk to you about."

Quatre frowned. "Okay."

"Wufei and I have been talking and he said somethin' that kinda stuck with me. We know that Rashid is gone and you have other Maganacs you can ask but…I was wonderin' how you would feel if me and Wufei became your new bodyguards."

Quatre stared at Duo. He certainly wasn't expecting that.

"I mean, we know we can never replace him but we just…we know you need someone you can trust right now and Wufei's kind of out of action for a couple of months so it would just be me to start," Duo added quickly. "And we won't be offended if you tell us no."

"Doesn't Hilde need you to run her scrap yard?"

Duo shrugged. "Business has really slowed down lately and I feel bad makin' her pay me when I don't really do much anymore. To be honest, it's really been boring. This…uh…rescue mission made me realize how much I miss being in the middle of things."

"You should probably go back to the Preventers, then. My life is pretty boring for the most part," Quatre pointed out.

"Don't give me that. You think I haven't checked up on you these last three years? You've kept Rashid busy enough." Duo smirked at Quatre's glare. "And besides, I've missed bein' able to hang out with you. This way we can get all caught up. Then Wufei will get better and try to keep us out of trouble so we might want to make as much trouble as we can as soon as possible."

Quatre grinned. "Yeah, Duo, I think I'd like for you and Wufei to be my bodyguards. Thank you for your generous offer."

Duo rolled his eyes. "Don't go all formal on me, Quat. Just so you know it was all Wufei's idea. I'm not really sure why he thought he and I would make a good team, though. We might kill each other."

Quatre chuckled. "He's had plenty of opportunity for that already. I think if he was going to kill you, he would have already done it."

Duo snorted. "Who says I won't kill him? He's a real pain in the—"

A knock on the door interrupted. Duo cautiously opened the door and was surprised to see Wufei standing there, a little unsteady on a pair of crutches.

"Oh, hey, Wufei. We were just discussing your earlier proposal."

Wufei shuffled inside and carefully sat on the chair Duo had just vacated. "It's good to see you awake," he greeted Quatre. "How are you feeling?"

"Better. How is your leg?"

Wufei shrugged. "Broken knee. It's annoying but not serious. I should be up to speed in a few weeks. How far have you come in your discussion about my 'proposal', as Duo put it?"

"I accept your offer to be my bodyguards. Although, Duo was wondering why you thought to ask him to partner with you and I admit I'm a little curious as to why you felt it would take two of you to guard me."

Wufei nodded. "I think that would be obvious. Heero now has Relena and Trina to take care of and Trowa has Dorothy and their son to think about. Clearly, Duo was the only other option."

Duo frowned. "So basically…I was the last resort?"

"Not at all." Wufei shifted in the chair to look at Duo. "I considered our differences in personality and I felt that we would both benefit from the other's opinion in any given situation."

"So why not just do the job yourself?" Duo asked. "It isn't like you _really_ need my help to keep Quatre safe."

Wufei considered his answer carefully. "For one thing, I am out of commission for several weeks. Quatre is going to need extra security immediately. His Maganacs are down several members after that last attack on his home and they are in mourning for Rashid as much as Quatre is. We are outsiders and as much as we respected Rashid, we were not as attached to him and are therefore more able to push our grief aside and do what needs to be done."

At the mention of Rashid, Quatre looked out the window, hoping his friends wouldn't notice the tears that had suddenly forced their way into his eyes. He'd been able to keep Rashid's death out of his thoughts because of everything else that was going on but he no longer had that luxury.

"Hey, Quat? You okay?"

Quatre quickly blinked, hoping that the tears would disappear before the others saw them. "I'm fine, Duo." Quatre's voice was a little husky, but he hoped that Duo would chalk that up to how recently he'd woken up.

"Don't give us that, Winner," Wufei said. "We may not have spoken much recently but we know you better than that. You have every right to grieve."

Quatre nodded but didn't look at his friends.

"Do you want us to go?" Duo asked.

Quatre shook his head. "I'll be fine. Wufei, you still didn't answer my question. Why do you think it will take two of you to keep tabs on me?"

Wufei and Duo exchanged a look when Quatre continued to look out the window.

Wufei cleared his throat. "It's been my experience that when someone does everything alone, they tend to get burnt out easier and if there are two of us, it will be possible to alternate vacations and other necessary leave should it arise."

Duo raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean by 'other _necessary_ leave'?"

"Well…I'm going to ask Sally to marry me."

* * *

 **A/N: Not much of a bomb but I think this story is winding down. At least, my muse hasn't thrown any curve balls at this point.**


	37. Chapter 37

**A/N: I thought I put this up last week. Oops! Sorry! This was originally going to be two separate chapters but since I forgot to post, I'm just going to combine them. Enjoy.**

* * *

Duo let out a low whistle. "I didn't realize you two were so serious."

"Yes, well…recent events have shown me how deeply I really feel for her," Wufei grudgingly admitted as he looked out the window. "I would not be pleased if such events were to be repeated."

Duo smirked but was careful not to let Wufei see.

"Let us know when the big day will be," Quatre said. "I'd like to be there."

Wufei gave the blonde a small smile and nodded. "That is assuming that she accepts. Until then, however, I think we have a few things to discuss. Do you want any of your sisters to know where you are and how you are faring? Duo or I can call and speak to them if you would like."

Quatre sighed. "I'll be honest, Wufei. I'm not sure _who_ I can trust right now and, unfortunately, that includes a good number of my sisters. My body double did a lot of damage to my reputation and I can't be sure, but I think some of my sisters may have been behind that."

"Why would your sisters do such a thing?"

"Because they want control of the company."

"So why not just let 'em have it?" Duo asked. "If I know you like I think I do, running that company isn't your idea of a good time."

"You're not wrong, Duo. There are days that I wish I had had the opportunity to choose my career for myself. However…the sisters who want control are not suitable to _be_ in control. They'll ruin the company and nearly a million people will be out of work. I can't let that happen."

"You tell us what you want. We work for _you_ now, not them," Duo said.

Quatre nodded. "Iria can be trusted. It might be a good idea to let her know that I'm okay if only so she can keep the others from forcibly taking over the company while I'm recovering."

"Okay. D'you have her number and I'll give her a call?"

"It's programmed into my phone but…I don't have it anymore. I had to ditch it on my way to Heero's." Quatre frowned as he tried to think of another way to get Iria's number.

"Hey, isn't Iria the doctor?" Duo asked.

Quatre nodded.

"Would Sally have her number?"

"I…don't know. But Relena might! Iria was one of her doctors when she was pregnant with Trina."

Quatre made to get out of bed but Duo stopped him. "You stay put. I'll go ask Relena. Wufei? Keep an eye on him."

Wufei stared at the door as it closed behind Duo. "Does he really think I'll be able to chase you down?"

Quatre chuckled. "Don't worry. I won't run off. I couldn't if I wanted to. I'm hooked up to too many of these machines. Though, if I did try to run they'd probably slow me down enough for you to keep up with me."

* * *

Duo knocked lightly on Relena's door and, as expected, Heero answered it.

"Is Relena awake? I have a question for her."

Heero nodded and let Duo into the room. Relena was leaning back against her pillows reading a pamphlet. She looked up when Duo came in.

"Hello, Duo. How is Quatre doing?"

"He's doing great. The doctors have said he can probably go home the day after tomorrow. They're only keeping him to make sure he rests like he's supposed to. How are you feeling?"

"I'm…okay," Relena reluctantly admitted.

"We're working through it," Heero told Duo. "Let Quatre know that she's going to be just fine."

Duo nodded. "I will. Hey, Relena, you wouldn't happen to have Iria's phone number on you, would ya? Quatre said he had to ditch his phone and he didn't have her number memorized."

"Oh…um…I don't think I have it, Duo. My phone was confiscated when they took me. I'm sorry."

"Hey, no worries, Princess. It's not a huge deal so don't stress over it. You just rest and I'll talk to you later, okay?"

Relena nodded and gave him a small smile. "Okay, Duo. Tell Quatre I might come see him tomorrow."

"Will do!" Duo let himself out of Relena's room and bumped into Dorothy in the hall. "Oh, hey, Dorothy. How's it going?"

Dorothy shrugged. "It's fine, I guess."

"How's Trowa taking things?"

"He's adjusting as far as I can tell. We've been talking about what we're going to do once we leave here."

"Oh?"

"Yeah. I think Trowa's going to stay with TJ and me for a while and if it works out we'll consider moving in together permanently."

"That's great! You let me know if you need me to knock some sense into Trowa for you, okay?"

Dorothy smiled and nodded. "I will keep that in mind. How is Quatre doing?"

"He's doing pretty good. We thought we ought to call one of his sisters to let them know he didn't go off the deep end like the news said but Relena didn't have any of their numbers since she lost her phone."

"Which sister were you trying to get ahold of?"

"Iria. Why?"

Dorothy pulled out her cell phone and scrolled through the contact list. "Here it is."

Duo frowned. "Why do you have her number?"

"Iria was my doctor while I was pregnant."

"Really?"

Dorothy rolled her eyes. "No, I'm making it up," she drawled. "Do you want her number or not?"

"Yes, please."

Duo put Iria's number into his cell phone and waved a goodbye to Dorothy while he waited for Iria to pick up. He got an answering machine.

"Um…you don't know me, but I've got something really important to speak to you about. If you could call me back as soon as humanly possible, preferably from a secure line, that would be great. Thanks."

Duo left his number but decided that leaving his name might not be the most secure thing to do in this situation. He only hoped that Iria would be the one to call him and not a secretary. He frowned as he thought of something else. He went back into Quatre's room.

"Did Relena have it?" Quatre asked.

"No, but Dorothy did. Apparently Iria was her doctor while she was pregnant. I tried to call it and got her voice mail. I left a message but when she calls me back, how am I supposed to confirm that it's her? You've got lots of sisters and I'd bet that some of them sound the same over the phone."

"Good point," Quatre said, tapping his chin as he thought. "I know! Ask her what colony she found me on during the wars."

"Okay. What's the correct answer?"

"It was a resource satellite. L4-35546."

"Got it. Now we just gotta wait for her to—" Duo's cell phone rang. "Speak of the devil," he said with a grin. "Hello?"

"I received a call from this number."

"Yes. I was looking for Iria Winner."

"That's me. What can I do for you?"

"You don't know me and I don't know you. So to make sure you are who you say you are I need you to answer a question. What colony did you find Quatre on during the wars?"

There was a pause. "It wasn't on a colony. It was resource satellite L4-35546," Iria answered softly. "How do you know about that?"

"Quatre told me to use that to make sure you were who you said you were," Duo explained. "My name is Duo Maxwell. I'm friends with Quatre."

"Do you know where he is?"

"Yes. He's with me. He wanted to let you know he was alive and not to believe everything they're saying on the news."

"Why isn't _he_ telling me this?"

"The doctors here want him to take it easy and I wasn't sure how worked up he'd get talking to any of his sisters."

"Doctors? What happened? Is he okay?"

"Calm down, he's doing fine now. He had an injury that got infected and it caused him to have a bout of endocarditis. He's back from surgery and awake now and the doctor said he can probably go home the day after tomorrow."

"Why didn't you call sooner?" Iria demanded.

"We didn't have your number and things have been a little crazy."

"I want to talk to Quatre."

"Uh…let me see if he's up for it." Duo put his hand over the phone and looked at Quatre. "She wants to talk to you."

Quatre held out his hand for the phone.

"Don't get worked up," Duo warned as he handed the blonde the phone.

Quatre nodded as he took the phone. "Hello? Iria?"

"Quatre! Sweetie, where have you been?! Don't you know how worried I've been?"

"Iria, please, calm down. I'm fine."

"Your friend said you had surgery. That doesn't make you fine!"

"I understand that, Iria. I had a hole in my heart that I was unaware of. The doctor said it's probably been there my whole life."

"You should have had your friend call me sooner! Where are you?"

"I…I shouldn't tell you."

"Why not?"

Quatre sighed. "Iria, I'm in a hospital. I'm sure the media is having a heyday with the fact that I've gone missing and someone broke into my home and killed some of my staff. If they come to you, I want you to be able to honestly say that you don't know. I wanted someone to know that I was okay and you were the first person I thought of that I could trust."

Iria was silent for a moment. "What do you need me to do?"

"Just keep the others from taking over the company. I'll come home as soon as they let me out of here and I'll handle everything then. With all the rumors flying around about me I wanted to make sure that the company would be safe. All of those people need to keep their jobs, Iria. I can't let rumors run us out of business."

"Okay, Quatre. Calm down. I'm going to head over to L4. I'll do what I can to keep everything running smoothly. Is it okay if I stay at your place?"

"Yes, Iria. Thank you! Oh…I…I haven't been home for a while. I don't know what condition it's in. Be careful. Tell…um…ask for Auda or Amal. Tell them that I will be returning shortly and that I said it was okay for you to be there."

"Is Rashid with you, then?"

"Rashid is dead, Iria." Quatre couldn't keep his voice from breaking as he told her the sad news.

"Then who called me looking for you two days ago?"


	38. Chapter 38

**A/N: So sorry this has taken so long. My muse hasn't wanted to work on any of my stories lately and it's getting really annoying because I want to get this one finished! I really think we're getting close to the end and I hope the next update doesn't take as long.**

* * *

Duo watched as Quatre went deathly pale. "Quatre? What's wrong?"

"That's impossible," Quatre whispered.

Duo snatched the phone out of Quatre's hand. Quatre was in too much shock to react to Duo's abrupt move.

"What did you just tell him?" Duo demanded of Iria.

"I told him that Rashid called me two days ago."

Duo swore. "How can you be sure it was him?"

"He said, 'This is Rashid. Have you seen Quatre?'"

Duo frowned. "He didn't call him 'Master Quatre'?"

There was a pause. "No. He just asked if I knew where Quatre was."

"What number did he call you from?"

"I don't know. It came up as unlisted."

Duo swore again. "Look, somethin's fishy about this. If he calls again, you _don't_ know where Quatre is and you _haven't_ heard from him. Got it?"

"I suppose. What's going on?"

"After Quatre showed up at Heero's, he called me and a couple of our other friends. Then he called Quatre's house to see what was going on. Auda answered it and told him that there had been an attack and that Rashid and three others had been killed. For someone to call pretending to be Rashid is just…" Duo couldn't think of the word he wanted.

"Reprehensible," Wufei supplied.

"Yeah…reprehensible," Duo repeated. "If they call again, see if you can get a number and we'll trace it to see who the lowlife is that's pulling this stunt."

"Okay. I'll do what I can," Iria promised. "I'll be staying at Quatre's house on L4, so I can look into what happened. You just keep my little brother safe and bring him home."

"I will definitely do that, Iria. With any luck we'll have him home in a couple of days. Call me if you need anything."

Iria assured him that she would and Duo hung up. He looked at Quatre, who had been pulling himself together and, though still pale, didn't look like he was about to pass out anymore.

"Quatre…we'll get to the bottom of this. Iria won't tell anyone that she knows you're okay. Once we get you home it'll be easier to sort out this mess, so you've gotta relax and do what the doctors tell you, okay?"

Quatre nodded

"Quatre," Wufei said, "this is precisely why we wanted to be your bodyguards. Let us worry about this new development. You need to focus on you right now. As Duo said, it will be easier to sort once you are able to rest comfortably at home. I'm sure if anything is amiss at your home, Iria will contact Duo. I don't want you to worry yourself over things that are not certain right now. What _is_ certain is that you are going to recover and everything will be fine. Do you understand?"

"Yes," Quatre whispered. "Thank you both. I'm sorry…it was just…I really wanted to believe that Rashid…"

"We get it, Quat. We really do," Duo insisted. "We really liked Rashid, too, ya know. We didn't know him as well as you but he was always a decent guy and he'll be missed."

"Thank you, Duo," Quatre whispered. He settled back against his pillows. "I think I'm going to try and sleep for a while. Wake me if you need to."

"Sure thing, Quat."

Wufei got up, careful not to lose his balance on his crutches. "Duo, can I speak to you in the hall for a moment?"

Duo followed Wufei out, turning off the lights for Quatre as he went. "What's up Wufei?"

"We need to find out who is pretending to be Rashid. If Iria was fooled over the phone then our suspect is likely someone who is also familiar with what Rashid sounds like. My bet is either one of his other sisters or his body double."

"What led you to that conclusion?"

"Quatre said that his body double had done a lot of damage and he suspects some of his sisters put him up to it. We just have to figure out where to start looking for him."

"Relena might know. But she might not be too keen to tell us."

Wufei frowned. "Why is that?"

"Oh, that's right, we never told you. Quatre's body double is the one that took her and Trina to that Fox guy."

Wufei swore. "That certainly complicates things. Maybe we should try to find him without asking her. Heero wouldn't appreciate us upsetting Relena again."

Duo nodded. "Yeah, I think asking Relena needs to be a last resort. Maybe when Quatre wakes up from his nap he can give us some more information on the guy, too."

"Yes, though I had hoped to have a lead before Quatre wakes up." Wufei shifted on his crutches. "I'd better get back to my room before Sally finds me out of bed and drags me there."

Duo watched Wufei make his way to a room a short way down the hall. He didn't want to go back into Quatre's room and risk disturbing the blonde. Even if Quatre wasn't sleeping Duo was sure he needed privacy to grieve Rashid's loss. Even though it wouldn't be the first time Duo had seen Quatre cry, he knew that nobody really likes to cry in front of other people.

He wasn't really sure what to do for the time being, though. Heero was with Relena, doing whatever Relena needed him to do. Duo wasn't sure he wanted to interrupt Dorothy and Trowa. Then again, they'd had plenty of time to talk already and Dorothy had said they were going to move in together so they'd have plenty of time to talk later. He walked down to Trowa's room and knocked on the door.

Dorothy opened it.

"Hi, Duo. Did you need something?"

"Not really. Just checking up on Trowa. He didn't make a break for it, did he?"

"No, Duo, I didn't run," Trowa answered from the bed. "What do you want?"

"I'm just bored. Quatre's having a nap." Duo stepped into the room.

"Oh. How…how is he?" Trowa still felt guilty about the way he'd treated the blonde and he suspected that he would feel bad about it for a long while yet.

"He'll be fine. He talked to one of his sisters to let someone know he was alive and she said someone claiming to be Rashid called looking for him."

Trowa frowned. "Didn't Heero say Rashid had been killed?"

Duo nodded. "I told her if he called again to get us his number but not to say anything about Quatre. We've got to figure out who's still going after him. Wufei thinks it's his body double."

Trowa glanced at Dorothy. "Um…you mean Paul Silver?"

Dorothy whirled around and stared at Trowa. "WHAT?! I'm gonna kill him!"

"You know him?" Duo asked.

"Don't you remember? He's Dorothy's cousin," Trowa supplied.

Dorothy pulled out a cell phone and dialed. She glowered at the wall while she waited for someone to pick up. Duo was going to ask her a question but she held up a finger to silence him when he opened his mouth.

"Hello?"

"Hello, Paul. How are you?" Dorothy's tone was clipped.

"I'm fine. And how is my favorite cousin? I haven't seen you since we spoke with Mr. Fox."

"I'm just peachy. What's this I hear about you going after Quatre Winner? I thought Mr. Fox was going to recruit him."

Duo opened his mouth again and Dorothy shook her head vehemently to tell him to shut up.

"Didn't you know? Fox's establishment experienced a raid. I assume he's been laying low as no one has seen him since so I thought I'd try to get feelers out and find Mr. Winner for him so we can get back on track as soon as possible. You haven't seen him, have you?"

"Why would I tell you a thing like that?"

"Because I'm sure that Fox will generously reward anyone who brings him what he wants. And if you tell me, I'll split the reward with you."

"In that case, I have seen him. I'm with him now."


	39. Chapter 39

**A/N: I promise I'm not holding this story hostage in exchange for reviews. I've just had a hard time getting my muse to let me write lately.**

* * *

Duo's jaw dropped. "What are you doing?" he hissed.

Dorothy put her hand up in a gesture that said, "Shut up, not now!"

Duo couldn't believe what he was hearing. He knew he shouldn't have trusted her!

"Why don't you come over and speak to him in person? I'm sure it will be easier to convince him if we both talk to him," Dorothy said. "He can be very stubborn when he wants but I bet we could wear him down."

"Absolutely fabulous idea, Dorothy! Where are you?"

Dorothy gave him an address and a time to meet up and then she hung up.

Duo was seething by this point. "How. Dare. You! What are you thinking?"

"Calm down, Maxwell," Dorothy said with a wave of her hand. "I didn't give him this address. I'm going to meet him. Are you coming with me or not?"

Duo blinked at her. "Excuse me?"

Dorothy rolled her eyes. "Catch up already. I gave him a false address so that we could get the drop on him. Do you and Heero want to come with me and take care of him or should I call Colonel Une and have her send me some Preventers to take care of him? I don't care either way, it's up to you."

Duo looked at Trowa with a lost expression. "What just happened here? When did we lose control?"

Trowa rolled his eyes. "You said someone was going after Quatre. Dorothy found him and set up a sting. You might want to go find Heero and get going."

Duo frowned. "You're not using this as an excuse to run off, are you?"

Trowa raised an eyebrow. "I have no reason to run. You don't have to worry about me. I'll be a good boy. Besides, I may have a broken collar bone but I can still guard Relena and Quatre better than Wufei can right now. I'll stay here and keep an eye on things."

Duo nodded. "Okay. Let's go, Dorothy. If we can get this done I think all of us will sleep better tonight."

* * *

It didn't take long to explain the situation to Heero. However, getting Heero to explain the situation to Relena was a different story. He didn't want to do anything that would upset her and he knew that leaving her alone for any length of time was likely to upset her.

"What if we had Trowa bring in TJ and Trina and they can all watch a movie together?" Dorothy suggested. "That way, Trowa can keep an eye on Relena but he'll also get to spend some time with his son. We can ask Relena to help Trowa bond with TJ to help keep her occupied. I don't think we'll be too long in dealing with my _dear_ cousin." Dorothy's tone promised pain for Quatre's body double.

"I suppose we can try that," Heero said slowly. "I just don't know how Relena is going to take this. I promised her that I wouldn't leave her."

"But if you ask her first, she might be okay with it," Duo pointed out. "And besides, if we can get all these guys in Preventer custody then she'll be able to relax more, won't she?"

Heero couldn't argue the logic. "Okay. I'll talk to her. But if she says she doesn't want me to leave, I'm not going. Understand?"

Duo and Dorothy nodded. They both knew how stubborn Relena could be sometimes and they also knew that Heero would see protecting her as his main priority.

Once the situation was explained to her, Relena agreed that Heero should go with Duo and Dorothy, which surprised all of them.

"Quatre needs to be safe, too," Relena said. "Paul Silver told me that if I didn't cooperate with him, he would kill Quatre and Trina. That's why I went with him and then…well…you know what happened." Relena shuddered. "He can't be allowed to run free, Heero. Please keep him from hurting anyone else."

Heero nodded. "If that is what you want then that is what I will do."

"Would you like Trowa to bring up Trina and TJ to watch a movie or something?" Dorothy asked. "It might help to keep your mind off of things for a while and it would kill time until we can get back."

Relena nodded. "Yes, I think I can handle that. But the kids need to understand that they need to be on their best behavior. Trowa and I can't really chase them right now."

"If you get too tired have Trowa take the kids back to the daycare," Heero told her. "You're supposed to be resting, remember?"

Relena nodded again. "I will, Heero."

Heero gently kissed Relena on the forehead. "We'll be back as soon as we can," he promised.

"Hurry," Relena whispered.

Heero nodded. He had known that Relena wouldn't really be okay with him leaving her right now. "Let's go," he ordered as he led the way out of Relena's room.

Duo followed Heero, not wanting to be accused of dawdling. He really didn't want to have to listen to Heero complain the whole time. He knew that Heero didn't want to come in the first place because it meant leaving Relena behind.

"I'll send Trowa over," Dorothy said before following Heero.

* * *

Relena settled against the pillows. She'd lied to Heero. She _wasn't_ okay with him leaving her, even for something as important as this. She didn't feel safe without Heero near anymore. But she also knew that if Paul Silver wasn't stopped, then he might come after her again. She _knew_ she couldn't handle that. So she had agreed to the lesser of two evils with the hope that all of Fox's men would be stopped and she could stop worrying about them altogether.

Trowa arrived a few minutes later with the two children.

"Mommy!" Trina greeted as she ran over to Relena's bed and started to climb up.

"Trina, remember what I said about behaving?" Trowa asked.

Trina looked at him with a pout. "I just wanted to hug Mommy."

"It's okay, Trowa. I'm sure Trina will be good, right?" Relena said, holding out her hands for Trina to come over and give her a hug.

Trina crawled up next to Relena and gave her mother a big hug. Then she snuggled up next to her and whispered loudly, "We're gonna watch a movie! And Trowa said that he might get us some treats if we promise to be good! I want chocolate ice cream and eclairs."

Relena looked at Trowa to keep Trina from seeing her grin. The circumstances surrounding how she got Trina may not have been happy but Trina had brought joy into her life. The little girl was precocious and bubbly, which offset Relena's more reserved and proper nature and reminded her to have fun once in a while.

"What movie did you want to watch?" Trowa asked Relena.

"I don't really care. Whatever will keep the kids' attention is fine."

"I wanna watch the ice princesses!" Trina told them.

TJ's face said that he certainly did _not_ want to watch princess anything.

"Why don't we let TJ pick this time, Trina? You've seen the ice movie lots of times and we can watch it when we get home."

Trina pouted for a second and then looked expectantly at TJ.

TJ bit his lip as he thought about what he wanted to watch. "What about the dog movie?"

Trowa frowned. There were about a million dog movies.

"Which one honey?" Relena prompted when she realized that Trowa wasn't sure which movie TJ wanted.

"It has a lady who wants to make them into coats," TJ mumbled.

"Is it a cartoon?" Trina wanted to know.

TJ nodded.

"That sounds like fun," Relena said. "Can you find it Trowa?"

Trowa nodded and found the movie on the hospitals movie channel.

"Can we have treats now?" Trina asked as the movie started.

"Calm down, sweetie," Relena said. "Why don't you watch the movie and we'll get treats in a little bit?"

Trina gave a long-suffering sigh. "Okay."

Relena smiled to herself and Trowa rolled his eyes. He wasn't used to the antics of small children-at least, not at such a close range. The children that came to the circus weren't his responsibility, so he didn't pay them much attention. He watched the movie but he didn't really focus on it.

He was wondering if he was really cut out to be a dad or if he ought to make a break for it while Dorothy was gone.


	40. Chapter 40

**A/N: I want to send my sincerest apologies for how long it took for this chapter to be ready. I had the worst case of writer's block. I think I may have beaten it back for a while so I hope the next chapter won't take so long to come out. (And for those of you reading Silent Companion I hope to have another chapter of that ready soon, too.) And in other news, I noticed on RightStuf that Gundam Wing is being re-released on DVD and Blu-Ray in December! (Group "squee" on three!) If that won't work for motivation to work on my fics I don't know what will! Anyway, enjoy!**

* * *

Relena didn't miss the look on Trowa's face during the movie. After the movie was over, Trowa offered to take the kids back to the playroom.

"Okay," said Relena. "I'll come with you."

Trowa frowned. "You should rest."

"I know. But I want to see where the kids are staying. And I've been in bed since we got here. I want to walk around for a few minutes." Relena wasn't about to give him a chance to run away. She was going to keep close tabs on him until she got to say what she wanted to say.

"You can walk around your room. Heero won't thank me if anything happens to you."

Relena smiled at Trowa. "Everything will be fine. Come on."

She walked out the door and Trowa had no choice but to follow her with the kids.

Once they dropped the kids off and were walking back to her room, Relena spoke up.

"Trowa, I know you're nervous about being a dad."

"What makes you think that?"

Relena laughed. "Are you kidding? Being a parent is terrifying. At least _I_ had seven and a half months to get used to the idea. You've just had it dumped in your lap."

"I guess."

Relena stopped walking and looked at Trowa. "Trowa, you can talk to me about it. I won't laugh, I promise."

Trowa looked back at her. "I don't know where to start," he admitted.

Relena smiled. "It's a lot to take in. Why don't we get a coffee and go back to my room? Then we can discuss your concerns in private."

* * *

"Okay, you two," Dorothy said after Heero and Duo were in her car, "I'm going to do the talking. You two keep quiet and follow my lead."

"Hang on a minute! Why do you get to be in charge?" Duo asked.

"Because he's _my_ cousin and I want to handle this."

"Do you really think that's the best course of action?" Heero asked. "I think we should take him into custody immediately and deliver him to Colonel Une."

"But what proof do we have if we just arrest him immediately?" Dorothy countered. "I have my cell phone set up to record and I want to get him to admit to a few things so that Une will be able to lock him away."

"I thought this guy was your cousin," Duo said.

Dorothy looked at him. "I never said he was my favorite cousin." She turned her attention back to the road. "He's been allowed to get away with everything his whole life and I'm sick of it."

"Yeah? Like what?"

"He's fathered multiple children with multiple women and he doesn't pay any child support, he's a drug dealer, and he's been collecting disability benefits since his early 30s. I think the only legitimate job he's ever held is as Quatre's body double and given recent events I think he only took that job so that he could get close to Quatre and dig up dirt on him for Fox."

"This guy sounds like a real creep," Duo said. "Okay, Dorothy. You take the lead, we'll back you up."

They pulled up to the address that Dorothy had given to Paul Silver.

"You told him to meet us at a park?"

"Yes, Duo. Nobody should overhear us talking to Paul and there aren't any security cameras so he shouldn't suspect anything."

"Do you want us to wait here or go out there with you?" Heero asked.

"Come out with me but keep back a couple of paces and look like you're keeping an eye out for the cops or something."

They got out of the car and headed for a nearby gazebo. They didn't have to wait long before a sleek black mustang drove up.

"Dorothy! How's my favorite cousin?"

Duo was surprised at how much Paul Silver looked like Quatre. It wasn't quite an exact match but anyone who didn't know Quatre personally wouldn't have been able to tell the difference. Paul's eyes were a little more blue than aqua and his hair was two shades darker blonde.

"Hello, Paul. I'm no different than I was when we spoke a few minutes ago. Now what's this about Fox wanting Winner?"

"Oh, come on. You know he was after Winner the whole time, that's why he sent me to pick up his wife and kid."

"Yes, I know about _that_ part. But since that raid nobody's heard anything from Fox that I'm aware of. What makes you think he's going to make a move to get Winner back already? Won't he need time to regroup?"

Paul shrugged. "I'm sure he will but I want to be ahead of the game. If we can just get our hands on Winner's wife or kid again then he'll be forced to do what we want him to. And I can keep everyone from suspecting that he's missing by keeping up appearances."

Duo and Heero exchanged a look. There was no way they were going to let this guy get away with his plan but they _had_ agreed to let Dorothy take the lead on this.

"You know, Paul," Dorothy said, "I don't know that I agree with what you and Fox are up to. What if I changed my mind about helping you?"

Paul's eyes narrowed. "You realize that you know too much for me to let you go. Either you join with me or I'll have to remove you as a witness."

"Now, Paul, is that any way to talk to your favorite cousin?" Dorothy asked with a pout. "I just don't know if I fully agree with working with Fox. How do you know he won't double-cross us?"

Paul shrugged. "Well, I guess I don't know that he won't. Why do I get the idea that you've got an alternative solution to dealing with him?"

Dorothy smiled. "Of course I do. I know just how to make everything work out for the best. Boys…get him!"

Heero and Duo pounced before Paul could react.

"Hey! Get your goons off of me!"

"Shut up before I knock your teeth in!" Duo growled.

"How dare you! Dorothy, you traitor!"

"I told you to shut up. If you don't I'll use my gun to give you a colonic."

Paul shut his trap but struggled as Heero and Duo wrestled him into the back seat of the car. Once they had him inside, Dorothy got behind the wheel. She turned to look at the three of them in the back seat.

"I think the Colonel will be interested in what my _dear_ cousin has to say for himself, don't you?"

Heero nodded, a grim expression on his face. Paul Silver had admitted to kidnapping Relena and Trina and had said he'd do it again. The man had to be behind bars or dead before Heero would let him out of his sight.

The ride to Colonel Une's Preventer office was uneventful. Paul's eyes darted around as he looked for a way out but Heero and Duo reminded him (none too gently) that they weren't about to let him escape.

"Good to see you again, Yuy and Maxwell," Colonel Une greeted them as they bodily pulled Paul into the building. "Have you brought me another present?"

"Colonel," Heero greeted with a nod. " _This_ ," he shoved Paul forward, "is Paul Silver. He has admitted to kidnapping Relena Peacecraft and her child."

"And he said he'd do it again," Duo added. "I'm sure you've got first class accommodations for him."

Colonel Une looked closely at Paul with a frown. "He looks an awful lot like Quatre Winner."

Duo nodded. "Yeah, he's been working as Winner's body double but it turns out he only took the job so he could get at Relena and her daughter."

"No I didn't!" Paul protested. "They set me up!"

Dorothy rolled her eyes. "I have proof, Colonel."

She played the recording for Une.

"Hm. Well in that case I've got the best room in the house just for him," Une said coldly. "I'll need a copy of that recording Miss Catalonia. And I may contact you later for more details." She called some agents to remove Paul to a cell. Once he was gone and they were alone in her office she asked, "Speaking of Quatre, do you have any idea where he disappeared to? Off the record, of course."

Heero nodded. "We know where he is."

Duo glanced at Heero and raised an eyebrow. "Can we trust her?"

Heero nodded again. "I'm sure the Colonel understands that Quatre wouldn't have done the things he's been accused of. Silver has been systematically ruining Quatre's reputation."

"So where is he now?" Une pressed. "If he needs help…"

Heero shook his head. "He was injured during a raid on his home that killed several members of his staff. I believe that is one of the incidents that he is being blamed for. After escaping from L4, Quatre sought me out. I contacted the others and we were able to track down the people responsible for kidnapping Relena and her child. They wanted Quatre to fund their agenda and also to recruit the Gundam pilots to use as a means of forcing cooperation from the ESUN. I believe we have shut them down, but I will give you the information you need to ensure that the job is complete. After we retrieved Miss Peacecraft and her child, it was discovered that Quatre's injuries were infected. He is currently in a hospital recovering from the infections and some complications that arose because of them."

"And how is Relena?"

"Relena is…" Heero faltered. He knew that Colonel Une would require a debriefing but he wasn't in the mood to do it right now. Besides, he had promised Relena they would hurry back and this was taking up too much time.

"Miss Relena is recovering from her ordeal," Dorothy told Une when it became apparent that Heero wasn't going to finish his sentence. "Though I don't think you ought to ask her for a statement or to have a press conference. She'll be better off if she is left alone."

Une frowned. "Heero, if it is at all possible, I would like to go over the entire incident with you and get a full debriefing. The sooner the better."

Heero nodded. "I will contact you with a time that is convenient but at the moment I have agreed to act as Relena's personal body guard and Duo has contracted himself as Quatre's. Barton and Chang are currently keeping tabs on them, but they were also injured during the recovery mission and need to rest, even if they argue otherwise. So if you have what you need for the moment, I think we ought to be on our way."

"Of course. If you need backup of any kind, please contact me. That goes for you as well, Maxwell. Quatre's reputation isn't very good right now so you're going to have your hands full until we can get this straightened out."

"Thanks, Colonel," Duo said, surprised that she'd made the offer. He knew he wasn't exactly one of her favorite people but he genuinely appreciated the gesture.

"Thank you, Miss Une," Dorothy said. "We'll let you know if any of Fox's other men show up or cause problems."

They bade the Colonel farewell and returned to Dorothy's car.

"That actually went much smoother than I expected it to," Duo said.

"Are you disappointed?" Dorothy asked.

"Naw. Relieved actually. I just hope this whole mess is behind us now. Quatre's got enough on his plate without Silver messing it up more."

Heero nodded. "It will be nice to let Relena rest. She could use a break."

* * *

"What if I'm no good at being a dad?"

"And what if you're great at it?"

Trowa gave Relena an unamused look. "I never had a dad. I don't have any decent male role models. I have _no_ _clue_ what I'm doing."

"Just be yourself, Trowa. You'll do just fine."

"You do realize that the true me is a terrorist, right?"

"You are not!" Relena insisted.

"I am, too! I was raised by mercenaries. I could kill a man 47 ways with my bare hands by the time I was 11. That's not the kind of thing that I think a kid should know!"

"Ugh!" Relena rolled her eyes. "You don't _have_ to teach him that stuff, you know! You could teach him how to tumble or how to walk on a tight rope or how to approach animals without getting bit! You know a lot of things that a kid would find interesting. Your problem is that you're focusing on the things in your life that you're ashamed of."

Trowa stared at Relena.

Relena's hand flew to her mouth as she realized what she'd said. "Trowa, I'm sorry, that came out wrong!"

"No," Trowa said slowly. "Don't be sorry. You're right. I _am_ ashamed of it."

"Trowa…I…" Relena wasn't sure what to say.

"It's fine, Relena. You don't have to apologize. My life is what it is." Trowa would have shrugged but it would have hurt. "And you're right that I don't have to raise TJ the way that I was raised. I can choose a different life for him. I just hope I don't screw it up."

Relena smiled. "Even I worry about screwing up with Trina. I think all parents do. And it isn't like you'll have to do it all alone. You'll have Dorothy and you can call me any time you want to. Just remember that at the end of the day, what you do with TJ is up to you and Dorothy."

Trowa nodded. "You're right. Thank you, Relena. I think I can give this a shot."

A knock on the door ended their conversation and Trowa got up to answer it.

"Ah, Heero! How did things go?"

"Everything is taken care of," Heero said as he came into the room. His eyes landed on Relena. "How did things go here?"

"Everything is just great," Relena told him with a smile. "We watched a movie with the kids and then Trowa and I had a little talk." She yawned. "Oh, excuse me!"

"You should rest now," Trowa said. "You've had a busy afternoon." He nodded to Heero and left for his own room. He was tired, too, but he wasn't about to admit it out loud.

Once they were alone, Heero sat next to Relena on the bed and she cuddled up to him.

"Are you okay?" Heero asked. He knew she hadn't wanted him to leave.

Relena nodded. "The movie and the kids were a great distraction. Is everything really taken care of?"

"Yes. Colonel Une has asked for a full report but she can wait for that until you're feeling better. She has both Paul Silver and…and Trina's sperm donor behind bars. They can't hurt you anymore." Heero had almost slipped up and told Relena who Trina's father was. She would _not_ be pleased when she finally found out who he was.

"Thank you, Heero," Relena murmured. "You always take such good care of me."

Heero kissed her forehead as she drifted off.

"And I always will," he whispered.

* * *

Duo quietly opened the door to Quatre's room. If the blonde was still sleeping, Duo didn't want to wake him. Duo needn't have worried. Quatre was sitting up, playing a game of cards with Wufei, who had his leg propped up on a pillow. They looked up as Duo came into the room.

"How did things go?" Wufei asked.

"It went pretty good, actually. Une has Silver behind bars and she said to let her know if we needed anything," Duo said as he pulled a chair over and sat down. "How did things go here?"

"Fine," Wufei said with a shrug. "Nothing unusual or exciting."

"The doctor came by," Quatre said casually. "He said I will likely be released tomorrow. So we'll need to work out transportation back to L4."

Duo nodded. "Okay. I can call Iria and see what she suggests. She might be able to send a company shuttle or something."

"I don't _want_ her to send a company shuttle," Quatre said firmly. "But she can wire us money."

"Quatre's right. A company shuttle would arouse suspicion and far too much attention. Alerting the media or too many of his sisters of his return would defeat the purpose in having him go home to rest," Wufei said.

"How much money do you want me to ask her to wire us?" Duo asked Quatre as he pulled out his phone.

"I'm not sure. How much will we need for transport to L4 and a taxi to my estate?"

"I'll ask Iria how much she thinks we'll need," Duo said as he dialed the number. He held the phone to his ear and it rang twice before it was answered.

"Hello? Who is this?"

"This is Duo. I was looking for Iria Winner," Duo said carefully. "Who is this?"

"This is Iria of course. How are you?"

Duo frowned. "If this is Iria, what did we talk about last time we talked?"

"We talked about where you were going to take me to dinner, of course."

Duo hung up and looked at Quatre. "I hate that you have so many sisters that sound alike over the phone. It seems that one of your other sisters answered Iria's phone. I'll try her again in a bit."

Quatre sighed. "I'm sorry this is such a hassle."

"No, Quatre, it's not a hassle. If you could trust all of your sisters it wouldn't be a problem. They're the hassle, not you," Duo insisted.

Duo's phone rang. He looked at the number. "It's Iria. Keep quiet in case it's one of your other sisters again." Duo answered the phone. "Hello?"

"Hi, Duo? I'm sorry about that. I left my phone on the table and Cassidy picked it up. What did you need?"

"Just to verify who you are, what did we talk about last time?"

"We talked about me going to Quatre's home to make sure everything was fine and to keep up appearances at the company."

Duo was relieved that she was able to answer without hesitation. It confirmed that it was really Iria he was talking to. "Okay. Have you arrived at Quatre's estate yet?"

"Yes. I had to go into the office for a few things and that's where Cassidy found my phone. I promise that I haven't told anyone about Quatre. Anyway, I've gotten things cleaned up and the Maganacs are…well…they're coping. I would like to give them an official vacation but they've refused. They said that they only take orders from Quatre."

"That sounds like them," Duo said. "So, the doctor came by and said that there's a good chance Quatre will be able to go home tomorrow. We need a way to get him home without a lot of fuss. He doesn't want a company shuttle. He said to have you wire us enough money to take a shuttle to L4 and then hop a taxi to his estate."

"That might be a little easier said than done," Iria said slowly.

"What's going on?"

"Well, the colonies have passed a lot of laws to regulate who comes and goes between the colonies and the Earth and I'm afraid that it's going to be difficult to get you passports at short notice. Even if you already have passports as soon as anyone finds out he's on the shuttle, there will be reporters waiting to pounce as soon as you land. If we could smuggle you through on a cargo transport then we can worry about getting you official paperwork once you're here and it will be easier to get Quatre home."

Duo frowned. "I don't know if I'm okay with that. Don't get me wrong, I'm all for smuggling but Quat's not in the best condition for being transported with cargo."

"Leave everything to me. I think I've got just the setup. I'll call you later with the details, okay?"

"Sure thing. Thanks for your help, Iria."


	41. Chapter 41

**A/N: I am so very sorry these have taken so long to get going. My muse was being super difficult and I wrote a bunch of this during Nanowrimo but I had to re-read what I wrote and make sure it made sense. Plus, the story went a different direction than I thought it was going to go so trying to fight against that made it hard to write so I ended up surrendering and just going with it.**

* * *

Duo explained the plan to Wufei and Quatre.

Quatre frowned. "I don't know, Duo. If we're trying to clear up my reputation should we be doing something as illegal as sneaking into the colonies?"

"Quatre," Wufei said with a sigh, "we understand your concern but I have a passport as does Duo. You _live_ on L4 and nobody with half a brain will claim that you don't. Technically speaking, we will be there legally, we just won't be announcing our arrival or going through normal channels to arrive."

"Yeah and besides that, how did you leave the colonies to begin with?" Duo asked, his tone teasing.

"Actually…I snuck onboard a cargo shuttle," Quatre admitted. "But it was a really stupid idea!" he added quickly. "I got sandwiched between two boxes that shifted during takeoff and it wasn't until the shuttle hit the atmosphere that they shifted enough again for me to free myself. It was sheer luck that I didn't end up with broken ribs or worse."

"That's why I told Iria that we can't just sneak onto a cargo shuttle," Duo said. "You let me handle it, okay? I'll get you up there in one piece."

"Well…"

"Quatre, trust us," Wufei said. "Heero isn't the only one who did a stint with the Preventers after the war. I have some favors I can call in if we need them. Everything will be fine."

"And Colonel Une did say to let her know if I needed backup so if the L4 Preventers pick us up we can call her and I'm sure she'll help us out," Duo said.

Quatre sighed. "Okay, I'll leave it up to you. How is Relena doing?"

Duo shrugged. "I could go see, if you want."

"I'd really like to speak to her myself," Quatre said with a frown. "Do you think the doctor would let me?"

Wufei shook his head. "You're still hooked up to the monitors. It would be easier for Relena to come over here."

"I'll go get her, then," Duo said. "You sit tight; I'll be right back."

Duo went over to Relena's room and knocked. Heero answered, as expected.

"Everything okay?" he asked quietly.

Duo nodded. "Quatre wants to talk to Relena if she's up for it. He wanted to come over but he's still hooked up to a bunch of stuff so…yeah."

Heero nodded. "I'll see if she's up for a visit and bring her over."

"Just in case she doesn't want to, what can I tell Quatre about her?"

"She's doing okay. I think she'll need some more time to be fully up to speed but I've got her scheduled with a psychiatrist so she can have the help she needs."

Duo nodded. "Good. I'll let Quatre know."

They parted and Duo relayed Heero's assessment of Relena to Quatre.

"I'm glad she'll be okay," Quatre said.

Someone knocked on the door and Duo opened it to find Heero with his arm around Relena's shoulders.

"Quatre!" Relena came into the room and rushed over to give the blonde a hug. "Oh, I've been so worried!"

"I've been worried about you, too," Quatre told her. "How are you?"

Relena let Quatre out of the hug. "I'm…getting there. Heero's been…just wonderful. Do _you_ need anything?"

Quatre smiled at her. "No. Duo and Wufei are taking good care of me."

Duo pulled a chair into the room from the hallway for Relena to sit in. "Here you go, Princess. Have a seat."

Relena sat down and reached for Quatre's hand. "Heero said you wanted to talk. Is everything okay?"

"Of course it is," Quatre assured her. "I wanted to know what your plans were once we leave here."

"Well…Heero and I had discussed…moving in together," she admitted with a blush.

Quatre smiled. "I think that's an excellent idea. Will you move into his place or yours?"

"Um…we hadn't really decided yet. I mean, if we go to my place Trina won't have to change preschools or anything but…but if Silver told Fox where I live then…" Relena shuddered.

"I think it would be wise to stay in my home until we can find somewhere new," Heero said placing a hand on Relena's shoulder. "Trina will think of moving as an adventure if we present it correctly. And we can look into finding somewhere near her current preschool if that makes it less stressful for you."

Relena gave him a grateful smile. "If you think that's best then I have no objections."

"We'll figure out the details later," Heero promised.

"What are you going to do, Quatre?" Relena asked.

"I'll be returning home to L4. Iria is there getting things set up for my arrival and I'm sure she'll stay to help me out until I'm back on my feet."

"We'll be goin', too," Duo said, gesturing to Wufei. "Someone's gotta keep Quat out of trouble."

"Yes, but who will keep _you_ out of trouble?" Relena asked with a giggle.

Behind her, Heero smiled. He was glad that she was able to laugh.

"Don't worry, Relena," Quatre told her in a stage whisper, "I'm going to keep him so busy he won't have _time_ to get into trouble."

* * *

Iria called later that afternoon with the details for their journey to L4.

"Call me when Quatre is released from the hospital. I will have Amal meet you at the space port. He'll give you instructions from there."

Duo didn't like how vague the instructions were. "If Quatre didn't trust you, I wouldn't go for this," he told her. "So no double-cross, got it?"

"I wouldn't do anything of the sort, Duo! I want Quatre to come home in one piece. You should know that I appreciate how much you care about my little brother's safety."

"Well…alright then. The doctor said Quatre should be free sometime tomorrow so expect my call."

They hung up and Duo related the information to Quatre and Wufei.

"I think that will be acceptable," Wufei said. "We'll stop at Heero's on the way to the space port and pick up Duo's bag. I'll have Sally send some things to L4 immediately but most of it can wait until after we settle in at Quatre's."

"I can have Hilde send the rest of my stuff over," Duo said. "So, Quat, are you ready for us to invade your space?"

Quatre smiled. It had been so long since his friends got along and he was already looking forward to future gatherings.

"Once things settle down, maybe we ought to have a barbecue or something," Quatre suggested. "Heero, Trowa, Relena and Dorothy can all come out and the kids can play in the game room while we lounge out by the pool or something."

"Sure," Duo told him. "As soon as you're better we'll set up a barbecue. But until then you're going to follow the doctor's orders and rest."

Quatre sighed. "And here I thought you were supposed to be the fun one."

"Hey! I _am_ the fun one. But your funeral would not be fun for me. So until the doctor clears you, you're on bed rest."

"Okay…I will behave," Quatre promised. "But only on the condition that once the doctor gives me the all clear you stop babying me. Got it?"

Duo and Wufei shared a look.

Quatre looked between the two of them. "What are you two plotting?"

"Nothing," Duo answered a little too innocently.

Quatre scowled. "I can still fire you, you know."

Wufei chuckled. "We're just messing with you, Quatre. Lighten up."

Quatre looked at Duo. "Are you sure he didn't get a concussion?"

Wufei scowled and Duo laughed.

"Why don't we order a movie and something to eat?" Quatre suggested. "Then you can make sure that I'm not overdoing it."

"I should probably elevate my leg," Wufei said, getting his crutches. "Duo can keep an eye on you tonight. I'll see you tomorrow."

Duo ordered food from the cafeteria and settled in to watch the movie that Quatre had chosen.

"You know, Duo…I really appreciate everything you guys are doing for me."

Duo looked over at Quatre. "You're welcome. I just wish it hadn't had to come to this."

Quatre sighed and nodded. "Me, too."

"Yeah, well now that everything's been cleared up it should be easier to keep in touch. Plus, I don't think that Relena will let any of us disappear again."

* * *

The next day, as expected, Quatre was released from the hospital. Relena, Trowa, and Wufei were released as well. Heero's and Trowa's cars had been retrieved the previous evening in anticipation. Heero drove Relena, Trina, Duo, and Quatre back to his house while Trowa took Wufei and Sally rode with Dorothy and TJ. After Trowa and Duo had retrieved their bags from Heero's guest room, everyone said their goodbyes.

"Don't be a stranger," Relena said as she gave Quatre a hug.

"We won't," he promised. "You should all come for a visit after we've had a chance to recover."

Heero nodded. "We'll do that. Let us know when is convenient for you."

"I will. Trowa, you and Dorothy will come as well, won't you?"

Trowa nodded solemnly. "If you want us to come, we will."

Quatre frowned. "Why wouldn't I want you there?"

"Quatre…I haven't been very nice to you…and I'm sorry."

"Water under the bridge, my friend," Quatre said as he patted Trowa on the shoulder. "After everything we've been through I think it would take a lot more than a few harsh words to kill our friendship."

Trowa nodded. He didn't trust his voice. He didn't know why Quatre found it so easy to forgive him but he was grateful. He hadn't been happy that their friendship had gone downhill but he'd really had no one to blame but himself.

"We'd love to visit," Dorothy said, wrapping her arms around Trowa.

Quatre smiled. "Good. We'll see you later, then. Stay in touch and be safe." He looked at Sally. "You'll come soon, too, won't you?"

She smiled. "Of course. Wufei has asked me to pack up his apartment so I'll be bringing his stuff out in a week or so."

"Good. Let me know if you need help."

She promised that she would and gave him a hug goodbye.

Quatre climbed into the cab that Duo had ordered for them and slid to the middle seat. Wufei was already seated to his left and Duo slid into the seat on his right. Duo asked the driver to take them to the space port.

The ride was uneventful, which all three of them were grateful for, and it didn't take long to locate Amal once they arrived at the space port.

"Master Quatre, it is so good to see you," Amal greeted the blonde with a hug.

"You as well, Amal," Quatre replied. "How are things at home?"

Amal sighed. "We will recover in time. You know about Rashid?"

Quatre nodded. "Who else did we lose?"

"Omar, Hamza, and Yasin. Ahmed took a bullet to the shoulder but is doing well. Abdul and Auda are keeping an eye on things at home. We've taken the liberty of beginning reconstruction on the damaged portions of the estate."

"Thank you, Amal. Duo and Wufei will be accompanying us to help with security."

"Yeah," Duo piped up when Amal looked like he was about to protest. "We know you guys are capable and all but we would really like to help out. We respected Rashid, too, and we can't think of a better way to honor his memory."

Wufei, though surprised at Duo's mature response, kept his cool and nodded his agreement.

Amal gave them a grateful smile. "Thank you both. It will be nice to have more help."

"Is something going on that we should be aware of?" Wufei asked.

Amal picked up Wufei's travel bag and motioned for them to follow him. "The media has many theories on Master Quatre's recent activities. I'm afraid that the damage control alone will be quite a task."

"I can handle it," Wufei said. "I've done as much with the Preventers in the past so it should be manageable."

"We will leave it to you, then," Amal said, not disguising his relief. "I am sure that Ahmed will be relieved as well as the task would have fallen to him and he was not looking forward to it."

Quatre chuckled. "I don't blame him. I have promised to try and stay out of trouble at least until things die down a bit."

"I'm sure we'd all appreciate that," Amal told him dryly. "Just…don't let things get too boring," he added with a wink.

* * *

The ride to L4 was quiet. Amal had created a hidden suite behind a large stationary crate in the cargo hold and the three former Gundam pilots enjoyed a relaxing flight that Duo was certain rivaled first class on any other transport shuttle. Once they docked, however, things were a different story. The L4 space port was abuzz with reporters.

"What's going on?" Duo asked.

"I'm not sure. Give me a second," Amal answered with a frown. He pulled out his cell phone and called Abdul. After a quick conversation in Arabic, Amal hung up. "It seems that there was a rumor of Master Quatre being sighted boarding a shuttle on L3 so they're waiting for it to dock in order to see if it really is him."

"Huh…right person, wrong shuttle," Duo muttered. "So what do we do?"

"I suggest we dock and wait for the other shuttle to arrive. That way the reporters will see that I'm not on it, get discouraged, and leave. Then we should be able to leave without incident," Quatre said.

Wufei nodded. "I think that is wise. You should put on a disguise, just in case, too."

"Okay. Who wants to dye my hair while we wait?"

Duo grinned. "I'll help ya. This way to the salon, sir."

Wufei rolled his eyes, but he was grinning as Duo and Quatre made their way to the shuttle's bathroom in order to alter the blonde's appearance.

"Tell me, Amal, just what sorts of rumors have been circulating about Quatre?"

"The rumors are probably fairly commonplace for someone in his position. It is rumored that he sleeps with everyone he can coax into his bed and has disappeared in order to escape women who claim to have his children. He is also rumored to be on every type of drug imaginable and throws wild parties, dragging the reputation of the company down with him. The Board Members currently believe that if he isn't stopped, the company will go bankrupt within the month."

Wufei raised an eyebrow. "The finances of the Winner Corporation can't be that bad, can they?"

Amal shook his head. "If they were, there would be much more unrest within the colony as it is funded almost solely by the Winner Corporation."

"We need to find out who is starting these rumors and why. Then we can stop them. Do you have any ideas who it might be?"

Amal nodded. "I believe I know who it is."

* * *

 **A/N: I hope everyone has a safe and happy New Year!**


End file.
